Lee blesses Saints with first Triple-A homer

Brooks Lee capped off his first calendar year in professional baseball with an exclamation point in the form of his first Triple-A home run.

The Twins' No. 2 prospect joined St. Paul last Thursday nearly a year to the day after making his pro debut. On Friday, he launched a no-doubt 445 foot shot into the rainy Minnesota sky in the Saints’ 5-0 win over the Louisville Bats at CHS Field. According to Lee, it was a night to remember:

“[It was] pretty insane. It was a cool experience. The crowd was super loud tonight.”

After being drafted out of Cal Poly, Lee had no trouble adjusting to professional baseball, hitting .303 over three levels. He finished the season with Double-A Wichita, then picked up right where he left off to start the 2023 campaign. Before joining the Triple-A ranks, MLB’s No. 18 prospect batted .292 with 61 RBI over 87 games. Both his average and RBIs still rank him inside the Top 10 in the Texas League.

🔥BROOKS LEE🔥@ticasino pic.twitter.com/11zd4qYfFw

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) August 12, 2023

His time with Wichita came to an end with a remarkable July -- the 22-year-old was named the Twins’ Minor League Player of the Month after batting .365 with five homers and 20 RBIs. His discipline at the plate resulted in the same number of walks (10) as strikeouts.

While the promotion was seemingly just a matter of time for the high-performing shortstop, his tenure in fact distinguishes him as the first player from the first round of the 2022 Draft to appear at Triple-A. (The Angels' Zach Neto went from Double-A straight to the Majors earlier this year.)

Over the past six games, Lee has been getting acclimated to the new level of competition.

“It’s been great," Lee said. "We have a really good hitting team and some special pitching. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of that group. Hitting is contagious, so when you have a lineup that mashes, it makes it a lot easier.”