Nothing much has happened this winter to warm the hearts of Minnesota Twins fans who continue to wait for the front office to make moves that improve the roster. It’s starting to look unlikely that free agency is a route the team takes, and the clock is ticking on a trade to find meaningful additions as well.
In fact, it sounds like the big pitching addition that has been teased all offseason might not happen either. The Twins are content with the starting five they have now and don’t seem as outwardly eager to add a frontline starter as they were earlier in the offseason.
Just like we saw at the trade deadline last year, it feels like the front office is inching closer and closer to leaning on in-house talent to fill roster gaps. It’s an annoying development, but one that’s not entirely misguided. The Twins have a strong crop of prospects ready to make an impact this year, led by former first round pick Brooks Lee.
Lee has been hyped as one of the next big pieces of the core, which is saying a lot since he’s only been in Minnesota since 2022. He was the No. 8 overall pick but has lived up to the billing in the short amount of time he’s been given.
This year Lee clocked in as the No. 18 prospect in all of baseball, and it might not be long before he becomes a part of the Twins second youth movement this season.
Twins GM reveals potential timeline for calling up Brooks Lee in 2024
Speaking on a variety of topics, Twins GM Thad Levine dished on the team’s plan for Brooks Lee and when to expect the top prospect to get called up.
The Twins plan for infielder Brooks Lee — No. 18 overall prospect, per @MLBPipeline — to begin 2024 at Triple-A, GM Thad Levine told @MLBNetworkRadio today.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 28, 2024
Levine continued: “When he tells us he’s ready to go, we’re going to get him up to the big leagues.” @MLBNetwork
That sounds like we could see Lee around the same time we saw Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien make their way into the Twins lineup. Julien was called up after Joey Gallo went down with an injury in April while Lewis re-introduced himself in May.
Lee isn’t on the 40-man roster, which would mean a corresponding move to make room for him to make his debut.
When he does, he’ll have serious hype following him to the Majors. Lee hit .292/.365/.476 with 11 home runs and 61 RBI in 87 games at Double-A Wichita after being drafted, and rose all the way to Triple-A St. Paul last year.
His production dipped a bit with the Saints, with Lee hitting .237/.304/.428 with five homers and 23 RBI in 38 games. The good news is that those numbers being considered “down” is a testament to how great he’s been in the minors, and he managed to finish September with some nice flourishes despite the dip.
Minnesota calling Lee up makes practical lineup sense in addition to giving fans something to look forward to. Assuming Jorge Polanco is traded, the Twins can move Julien over to first and slot Lee in as his replacement at second base. Once Alex Kirilloff returns to full strength, he can either play first while Julien serves as DH or move out to right and replace Max Kepler.
The point is, Lee coming up solves a few challanges the Twins have in filling out the right lineup. It would still be nice to see the team make a move, but getting Lee to the majors could end up being better than any signing or trade the team makes.