Brooks Lee embraces the art of hitting. The son of longtime Cal Poly head baseball coach Larry Lee, the 23-year-old Minnesota Twins infielder approaches his craft diligently. Drafted eighth overall by the Twins in 2022 after putting up a healthy 1.073 OPS across three years in college — he played for his father — Lee logged a 148 wRC+ over 114 plate appearances with Triple-A St. Paul last season prior to receiving his July call-up. The start to the switch-hitter’s minor league season had been delayed by nearly two months due to a herniated disc, which was diagnosed in early April.
Assigned a 50 FV and a no. 3 ranking when our 2024 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect list came out last June, Lee slashed .221/.265/.320 with three home runs and a 62 wRC+ over 185 plate appearances in his initial opportunities against big league pitching. He sat down to talk hitting when the Twins visited Fenway Park in the penultimate weekend of the season.
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David Laurila: How would you describe yourself as hitter? Moreover, how do you view yourself going forward?
Brooks Lee: “Ultimately, I want to evolve into a pure hitter and be able to hit all pitches in all zones. I want to hit for average. I think I can drive the ball, but most importantly, I want to get hits.”
Laurila: A lot of people will argue that batting average isn’t all that important. Why is it important to you?
Lee: “I’ve just always loved people that hit .300. As a switch-hitter, I want to be able to get on base at all times, from both sides of the plate. I really enjoy getting hits. That’s probably my favorite part of the game. For me, hitting over .300 is a benchmark. If you do that, everything kind of takes care of itself.”
Laurila: Being able to hit all pitches in all zones is an admirable trait, but at the same time, it can mean putting balls in play that you aren’t able to drive. You might be better off taking those pitches.
Lee: “Yes. That is something I’m learning, too. Sometimes you have strikes that aren’t necessarily good pitches to hit, even though they’re in the zone. For me, the pitch has to be elevated in order to drive it, because of the way my swing works, and the way I see the ball. So, when it’s up, then I go. Most likely, it’s a good pitch for me to hit.”
Laurila: How does your swing work, and does it differ from one side to the other?
Lee: “I think I have a very simple swing. It’s pretty flat, although I’m a little more vertical than I have been in the past. I want a short hand-load. I want my barrel to stay quiet. I want everything to mimic each other. I want both of my elbows to look the same. I want my front foot and my back foot to be even. I want to be level. That’s what helps me stay on pitches in different locations, and then when I do get fooled, it helps with just getting the barrel on the ball.
“As for each side, there are some differences. The barrel is really quiet right-handed; I just kind of try to touch the ball, just get the barrel to it. I feel like I have a little more emphasis on swinging hard and driving [the ball] left-handed. I have more power left-handed, because I can let it loose more and have more loft on my swing. Right-handed, it seems to work out better if I’m quiet and just try to touch the ball.”
Laurila: Is the left-right difference noticeable to the naked eye?
Lee: “I think to most people it looks the same. I’d see my new stuff. Like, I would see the angle of my front foot, left-handed. It’s a little more toward third base or shortstop, whereas right-handed I’m closed off. I think my load is pretty much the same. I’m just kind of here, draw back a little bit, then go forward. I probably have the same stride length.
“The biggest difference is probably posture. I like to bend over right-handed a little bit. Being a dominant top-hand hitter, right-handed, bending over allows me not to roll it over as much. I will hit the ball in the air more. Another thing — and I thought it wouldn’t work — is that the more I bend over, the better I am at hitting elevated fastballs. I couldn’t touch a fastball that was above my belt last year, right-handed. Left-handed, I would never miss it. It seems to almost be the opposite this year. Right-handed, I’m driving pitches up in the zone into center and right-center. That’s a huge part of my game now.”
Laurila: Not missing elevated pitches from the left side seems a little counter intuitive. Because you’re dropping your dominant arm, a right-handed thrower typically handles low pitches well from the left side.
Lee: “My dad taught me to be a very unique hitter. I think he wanted me to work from the top down, because the best pitches to hit for me are elevated. Sliders aren’t going to break as much. Changeups usually won’t have as much depth or fade. The fastballs are better, but that’s something that I’ve always hit.
“Props to him, because I think that made me able to just look for one part of the zone. I knew that I would get to those pitches, whereas I feel like some hitters have to work from the bottom up. They’re really good at hitting low pitches, and struggle at the top. I’m kind of the opposite. I think it’s unique for a left-handed hitter to be like that.”
Laurila: Were you naturally a right-handed hitter or a left-handed hitter?
Lee: “I’ve always switch-hit. My whole life. My first ever swing was left-handed, and my dad switched me over to right-handed. So, I’ve always switch-hit, although I have wanted to quit multiple times. I wanted to quit in college. I wanted to quit last year. I didn’t want to hit right-handed, because it just wasn’t comfortable. I felt like I couldn’t see the ball as well, and didn’t have the coordination. But then I made the small adjustments, and everything fell into place. They made a huge difference.”
Laurila: Why do you see the ball better from the left side?
Lee: “I think I actually see the ball better right-handed now. In my eyes, I’m like a year and a half behind, right-handed, meaning that you get so many left-handed at-bats because there are so many right-handed pitchers. You just kind of accumulate those left-handed at-bats over time, while the right-handed ones are always trying to catch up. But the more I’ve faced really good arms in the minor leagues, and now up here in the big leagues, the more I’ve been able to adapt. Now I feel as comfortable as ever from that side.
“One thing that makes a big difference is the mechanics of your swing. That changes the way that you pick up the baseball. People talk about your eyes being level, or not shifting too much with your head, when you stride. I believe that. There are other things that come into play, but I think the longer I stride out toward the pitcher, the more time I have to pick up a changeup, or determine if it’s a good pitch to hit. The smaller my stride is, the harder time I have picking up offspeed pitches, and the less versatility I have with the bat. I don’t know if that’s how it is for everybody, but I know that’s how it is for me.”
Laurila: You mentioned your swing being slightly more vertical. Is that from both sides of the plate?
Lee: “So, my left-handed swing… what I would usually do is, my hands are kind of low, then I would draw back, then they would raise a little bit. I would be very flat getting to those elevated pitches, but now my bat is a little more vertical. I usually started at 45 [degrees], but it’s been little more up. I think the way you hold your bat will change the way you enter the zone.
“Right-handed, the more I tilt… I’ll get a little more vertical, but it’s a much better plane for me. I used to stand up tall, like I do left-handed, and I would roll everything over, top hand dominating everything. As soon as I spread out and bent over a little bit – got kind of old school – it seemed to work a lot better. I stayed on balls better.
“Left-handed, I needed to get a little more vertical so that I can hit pitches down in the zone. Guys throw great sliders now. They have a lot of depth, and especially when they’re in, they’re going to break a lot more. I need to be able to get to the inside of the ball and get it up in the air. I couldn’t hit a slider inside in college for the longest time. You kind of just unlock those pitches in your swing.”
Laurila: You’ve learned a lot from your father…
Lee: “Yes. He’s a hitting coach, and he wants everything to be simple. He wants you to be quiet, with a little bit of rhythm. He wants you to take a good stride with the bat at 45 degrees. A small hand-load. Always be ready for the fastball. But I’ve also learned a lot about myself in my few years of pro ball. Looking for pitches inside when I’m hitting right-handed really helps me with my approach. I think it also makes my swing a little tighter, and I won’t chase pitches outside the zone too much.
“When I hit left-handed, I love to go to left-center. I want to stay in the opposite field gap. That helps me stay on offspeed pitches, and gives me… maybe I’m not as quick to inside fastballs, but every once in awhile, your body is just going to react and be on time. I don’t want to be on time to pull a fastball down the line. I want to be on time to hit it to left-center on a line.”
Laurila: To close, do you consider hitting to be more of an art or more of a science? And what about your father? How would he answer that question?
Lee: “I think he would say art. I would say it’s art, too. I’m the same person he is when you’re talking about hitting. There is the science part of it, but there are also guys out there who just know how to get the barrel to the ball. They have great hand-eye coordination. They do whatever they want with their stance, or with their backswing, and when the pitch comes, they put a good swing on it. I hit with Jeff McNeil in the offseason — he’s such a talented hitter — and he just knows how to get the barrel to the ball. That’s what I want to do, get the barrel on the ball. How you make something work is your art.”
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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis
