SLO native Brooks Lee hammering the ball in the minors. When will he reach the big leagues?

At every level of Brooks Lee’s baseball career, he has hit well.

A year after leaving Cal Poly, that hasn’t changed, and he’s already moved up to the upper levels of minor league ball, where the former San Luis Obispo High star continues to climb at Double-A Wichita in the Minnesota Twins’ farm system.

Lee has played more than half of a season with the Wind Surge in the Texas League, finding his groove in July during the hottest stretch of his season.

A batting average that had hovered in the .260s just a couple of weeks ago has spiked to .289 as of Thursday, and Lee said he’s eager to get to the ballpark every day.

On the season, Lee, a San Luis Obispo native and son of Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee, has belted 10 home runs and leads the team in runs (58), RBIs (55) and doubles (30). He ranks No. 1 in doubles in the Texas League as well.

“Every morning, I’m just waiting to go to the ballpark,” Lee said in a phone interview with The Tribune. “It has been a fun season so far.”

Lee had a couple of standout games of late, including a four-hit performance in the lead-off spot on July 16 in a 13-12 win over Springfield (Missouri) of the Cardinals’ system.

Showcasing his hitting versatility, Lee launched a home run to right center that traveled 406 feet, hustled out of the box on a double in the gap, slammed a long single off the wall down the line in right and lined a single up the middle. The two-run homer tied the game at 11.

“I haven’t had two home runs in a game yet, so hoping to do that soon,” Lee said. “I’m always looking to hit singles and doubles, but we play at some very offensive parks, so that helps.”

On Wednesday, Lee went 3-for-4 with a double and scored three runs.

Lee said that the repetition of seeing pitches in games and coaching from the Twins’ player development staff has helped him continue to improve. Lee now is the team’s No. 1 prospect and No. 18 overall in the MLB Top 100 rankings.

“He knows exactly what he needs to work on in the cages and also in the game, too,” Twins bench coach Takashi Miyoshi told MilB writer Evan Desai after Lee’s recent four-hit breakout game. “He’s mature enough as a 22-year-old to handle the Double-A pitching, and today was definitely a testament that he’s going to be one of the great Major League Baseball players in the future.”

Playing at the next level

A star, switching-hitting shortstop at SLO High and Cal Poly, Lee faced draft questions around whether he would be a better fit at another position at the professional level, possibly second or third base.

So far, Lee has answered the call at shortstop, posting a .963 fielding percentage (.970 is considered elite level fielding), with 12 errors on the season (playing all of his games except one at shortstop).

“I’ve always practiced second and third just because, sure, I did that growing up and at Cal Poly,” Lee said. “But I love shortstop, and I always have tried to make it work. I’m big and slow. So, I have to figure out ways to get it done, but I have so far.”

Lee said that it has been an adjustment facing tougher pitching. He got a taste of major league arms in spring training earlier in the year. He said improvement has come with practice, experience and seeing a lot of pitches.

“A lot of it has to do with repetition and working on things that you’re not good at,” Lee said. “Baseball is crazy, because everything just flip-flops all the time.”

One of the biggest adjustments at the plate has been handling pitches with a lot of movement, he said.

“I’ve always been super aggressive, and I’ve been able to touch the ball and that’s kind of my issue,” Lee said. “It’s a curse sometimes because it might not be the best pitch. And the more seasoned the pitcher is, you have to be a little bit more selective because things are moving a lot more than I’ve ever seen before.”

Toward the end of the spring training season, Lee said he felt that he was handling pitching better from the MLB pitchers he faced.

Lee also said that he has had conversations with San Francisco Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger, a former Cal Poly star, about staying healthy, which has been a challenge for Haniger this season.

“We were talking about just how to keep my body healthy,” Lee said. “I have asked him about his routine and how he tries to stay healthy on a day-to-day basis, and he’s been crazy unlucky with certain injuries. But he’s super knowledgeable about his own body and that’s what kind of I need to get to.”

As he continues to progress in 2023, Lee said that the long bus rides to opposing stadiums in Texas are part of the adjustment.

He described one road trip that took them 12 hours from Wichita to San Antonio, followed by four hours from San Antonio to Midland, and then another eight hours back to Wichita.

“It’s a long way all the way around. You get to know people pretty well,” Lee said.

Making it to the big leagues

Lee acknowledged that he thinks about playing at the big-league level often, but he’s unsure of when he might get his chance.

“You’re always thinking about it whether you want to say it or not,” Lee said. “Usually, the team is not letting you know anything. That’s kind of how it is. And so, you’re always wondering.”

Lee said that he’ll let others speculate and “try to continue to play as good as I can and stay on the field, and that’s all that really matters to me. They have a plan for me so whenever that happens, I’ll be stoked for it.”

As the 22-year-old prepares himself for a big league call-up someday, he talks to his father frequently to check in and discuss baseball.

He also is closely tracking the development of former Mustangs teammate Drew Thorpe, who was drafted 61st overall by the New York Yankees in 2022 and is 9-1 with a 2.27 ERA for the Hudson Valley Renegades, a High-A Affiliate. He’s hoping Thorpe will make the jump to Double-A soon.

“I talked to Drew every day,” Lee said. “He’s my best friend.”

Lee said that he has had a chance to talk to Bryan Woo, a former Cal Poly pitcher, who was called up to the big leagues in June by the Seattle Mariners this season and has posted a 1-2 record with a 4.74 ERA.

“I hope all four of us can play (in the MLB) soon,” Lee said. “That would be sweet.”