Twins draft college shortstop Brooks Lee with No. 8 overall pick

LOS ANGELES – The Twins got an expected top-five player at No. 8 and drafted a once-likely first-round pitcher at No. 48 on Sunday.

Brooks Lee, the top collegiate shortstop in the draft, surprisingly dropped to the Twins' pick in the first round, and Connor Prielipp, a lefthander who was Wisconsin Player of the Year before attending Alabama, was still there when the Twins made their second-round pick Sunday.

Lee is a switch-hitting shortstop who was raised by a baseball coach, a resume the Twins couldn't resist — and that's before you consider how accomplished the 21-year-old Cal Poly junior is at the plate..

The 2021 Big West Player of the Year followed that season up by hitting .357 in 2022. Lee also contributed 41 extra-base hits, including 15 home runs, for the Mustangs, who have been coached for nearly two decades by his father, Larry Lee.

Seven years ago, the Twins used a first-round pick on another dangerous hitter who had been coached by his father — outfielder Alex Kirilloff, who is now a regular in the Twins' lineup.

"When I get that phone call about mechanics or things he sees on the center field camera, he's Coach Lee," Brooks Lee told MLB Network earlier this month. "The rest of the time, he's Dad."

Lee had long been projected among the draft's top five picks, but instead became the Twins' highest draft pick since taking another California shortstop, Royce Lewis, with the No. 1 overall pick in 2017.

Lee, the third shortstop chosen this year but the first from the college ranks, is in line for a big bonus when he signs; slot value for the No. 8 pick is $5.439 million.

Prielipp is a native of Tomah, Wis., where he dominated high school hitters, giving up only seven runs in 101 innings as a senior, while striking out 215. He chose to attend Alabama, and had a strong, if COVID-shortened, 2020 season. But his 2021 season was ended after just seven innings by elbow pain, and he had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in May.

He hasn't pitched in a game since, but Prielipp attended the MLB Combine last month to prove he's healthy again. Some scouts believe Prielipp had the best slider of all draft-eligible pitchers this year, and could have been taken high in the first round had he pitched this season.

Lee and Prielipp were both drafted out of high school but chose to attend college instead, Lee in order to play for his father. He missed nearly all of the 2020 season after undergoing hamstring and knee surgery but batted .342 with a .626 slugging percentage for Cal Poly the following season to take top honors in his conference.

His father had him hit lefthanded from childhood, Lee told MLB Network, and gradually helped him become a switch hitter. Lee excels at making contact, having struck out only 28 times while drawing 46 walks last season.

At 6-foot-2 but without upper-range speed, many scouts believe Lee will eventually move to third base. But his grasp of fundamentals is strong enough that he's likely to be given a chance to remain at shortstop.

Cal Poly has already produced a Hall of Famer at the position, after all.

"Maybe I don't have the hops that Ozzie Smith had," Lee said of his fellow Mustang, "but I'd love to be the next great shortstop from Cal Poly."

Former Twins pitcher Kevin Correia was also drafted from the San Luis Obispo school.

With their final pick on the first day of the draft, No. 68, the Twins selected another college infielder, Virginia Tech's Tanner Schobel, who hit .362 with 19 home runs and 74 RBI in 59 games this past season.

The 20-round draft will continue Monday and Tuesday.

Stillwater native Drew Gilbert, a junior outfielder at Tennessee, was selected by the Astros with the 28th overall pick on Sunday. Gilbert, drafted in the 35th round by the Twins in 2019, earned All-America honors for the Volunteers this season after hitting .362 with 11 home runs in 58 games.

Woodbury native Adam Mazur, a junior righthander at Iowa, was chosen 53rd overall by the Padres. Mazur, who transferred from South Dakota State, struck out 98 batters in 93 innings for the Hawkeyes.