It's known that Brooks Lee is not the greatest hitter on the Minnesota Twins. No one is arguing that, but the 25-year-old shortstop might deserve some more credit than he is getting.
Lee struggled throughout 2025, which was his first full MLB season. There wasn't a ton of positivity to take away from his production at the plate after finishing in the bottom fourth of the league is several hitting metrics. That's not to say that Twins fans were writing him off just yet, though. There is belief that he will figure things out at the dish, which might be happening sooner than we thought.
Even if he isn't jumping off the screen with superstar numbers like his double play counterpart, Luke Keaschall, Lee's performance at spring training has been good enough to get fans on board that he can be a valuable hitter.
Brooks Lee is proving to Twins fans that he can be a good hitter in 2026
In 16 spring games, Lee is a .311 hitter with five extra-base hits (two home runs, two doubles, one triple) and two stolen bases. He has been especially solid over his last nine games, batting 10-for-28 (.357). On Friday, he went 2-for-2 with a walk. He reached base twice against Max Scherzer, who dominated the rest of the Twins in his scoreless outing.
Point being, Lee seems to be locked in, even he was doing so under the radar. Plenty of attention has been placed on how well the outfielders are hitting this spring. Fans wince at the screen when they watch Royce Lewis, too, hoping he stays healthy and will suddenly hit a red-hot streak before Opening Day. There's a huge need from him to provide some strength to the middle of the order. But back to Lee, it might be time to start watching his at-bats with keen eyes. He could be the one to provide a spark to Minnesota's lineup, for all we know.
As of now, he is projected to register a .674 OPS this season by Baseball-Reference, which would be a 20-point jump from 2025. Judging by the way he's swinging it this spring, maybe Lee is being a tad underrated. An OPS north of .720 would exceed expectations, but it suddenly does not seem so far-fetched. We're excited for Lee to see the day when he is no longer seen as a below-average hitter. Ideally, 2026 is the year when he completely rids himself of that reputation.