The Minnesota Twins have promoted infield prospect Brooks Lee to the majors for his big-league debut, the team announced Wednesday. In a corresponding move, Royce Lewis landed on the injured list a day after departing a game with left groin tightness. He was slated for further imaging to assess the severity of the matter.
Lee, 23, was the eighth pick in the 2022 draft. He missed the onset of this season after suffering a back injury during spring training, but has made up for lost time since returning. In 20 games at the Triple-A level, he's hit .329/.394/.635 with seven home runs and nearly as many walks (nine) as strikeouts (13). Lee has experience at various infield positions, but figures to end up at either third or second base for the long haul.
Just last week, CBS Sports named Lee as the top prospect who was most likely to make their big-league debut following the Washington Nationals' promotion of outfielder James Wood. Here's what we wrote at the time:
It's likely that Lee would have already debuted this spring were it not for a herniated disc in his back that delayed his season. He returned to Minnesota's Triple-A lineup in early June, where he's since hit .361/.432/.667 in 17 games. Lee is a polished switch-hitter who has experience at shortstop, second, and third base. Where he fits into the Twins' big-league lineup is to be determined. Both Willi Castro and Jose Miranda have performed better in 2024 than could have been reasonably anticipated, and he's certainly not going to put Carlos Correa or Royce Lewis out of a spot. Still, crowded depth chart or not, Lee is a strained oblique (or, um, hurt wrist) from reaching The Show.
The Twins, who enter the day six games back in the American League Central with a 48-37 record on the year, will continue their series against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.
