Tigers prospect Lee utilizing time at camp to get lessons in patience
Jason Beck
@beckjasonLAKELAND, Fla. -- The tattoo on the left side of Hao-Yu Lee's neck can be difficult to make out until you read it up close: Persistence.
It fits the Taiwanese-born Tigers prospect.
It¡¯s how the former Phillies international signing rose to become the No. 8 prospect in the Tigers' system and an All-Star Futures Game selection last year.
It¡¯s how a then 21-year-old with somewhat limited English endeared himself to teammates and fans alike at Double-A Erie last year.
¡°He¡¯s a guy you love having on your team,¡± said No. 1 prospect Jackson Jobe, Lee¡¯s teammate for much of last season with the SeaWolves. ¡°He¡¯s playing with intensity. Love having him behind you as a pitcher. But in the clubhouse, he¡¯s a chill dude. He¡¯s cool.¡±
And it¡¯s how one of the youngest players in camp has made the most of his first Major League camp and drawn the attention of established Tigers while making his case as a potential answer at third base.
¡°I think he¡¯s going to be a stud,¡± Kerry Carpenter said.
Lee will not be outworked. He has fun with teammates, which became evident when he won a batting practice competition on the back fields early in camp. But he is also intense, as many noticed within the first few games.
¡°He loves to compete,¡± manager A.J. Hinch said. ¡°He thinks he should get a hit every time.¡±
It¡¯s a slight exaggeration; even at Erie last year, Lee hit just under .300. But learning how to handle strikeouts, for a player who has had a low K rate on his way up the Minors, has been his biggest lesson.
¡°Riley Greene struck out three times in one game. Kerry Carpenter struck out two times in a game. Every time, it seems like this is another at-bat,¡± Lee said through translation from Peter Lin. ¡°This is what I need to learn, to control my emotions after a strikeout. I need to get a little bit smoother instead of having ups and downs.¡±
Lee approached both players about this, the mental side of hitting. Though he uses a translator with reporters, he knows enough English to talk with teammates himself.
¡°I pretty much told him this is a super hard game, and you¡¯re going to fail,¡± Greene said. ¡°It¡¯s how you bounce back from it, turning the page at-bat to at-bat, but pitch to pitch as well.¡±
Carpenter talked about focusing more on why he struck out, rather than the strikeout itself. Watch film, make adjustments, take the next at-bat.
¡°It was kind of an honor that he thought I handled it well,¡± Carpenter said. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s harder than it looks. But I just told him that it¡¯s always deeper than the result. At least for me, I can think back almost pitch for pitch throughout my at-bats and kind of see why I struck out or why I got a hit.¡±
It¡¯s not necessarily new for Lee. But it¡¯s an ongoing process.
¡°I've tried to purposely calm myself down before,¡± Lee said. ¡°Turns out it doesn't really suit me, so what I want to do is try to get a balance between getting super emotional and getting not emotional at all.¡±
Colt Keith talked to Lee about not overworking in the cage too early in camp, relaying what he experienced during his rookie season last year.
¡°He¡¯s kind of been the model student,¡± Hinch said, ¡°because he always wants to learn, and he¡¯s going to put in the effort. If anything, we need to dial back some of the volume for him, both short term in this spring but also in his routines.¡±
Lee has had plenty of chances. His first at-bat of the spring was a 12-pitch walk, followed by a 413-foot fly out to center that would¡¯ve been a home run in 23 MLB parks according to Statcast (but not in Comerica Park).
That changed quickly. He went 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his first five games before he hit a sinking line drive to right-center on Sunday. Pirates center fielder and No. 2 prospect Konnor Griffin made a diving attempt but trapped the ball.
Lee, finally with a hit, rounded first and never slowed, beating the throw to second with a hustle double.
¡°Once I saw he didn't catch it, he has to get the ball and get up,¡± Lee said, ¡°and I just know that the timing is good to get to second.¡±
Said Hinch: ¡°Him getting a hit might have cut his [practice] swings down by 50 today -- which is a positive.¡±
The lessons from camp will go into his routine at Triple-A Toledo, where he¡¯s expected to open the season playing for manager Gabe Alvarez for a second consecutive season. From there, it¡¯s a short trip to Detroit.