Entering Sunday night’s game, Brooks Lee had a hit in 25 of his last 27 games, and one of those 27 was a game in which he didn’t have a plate appearance.

He slashed .346/.370/.510 from May 28 to June 28. His .880 OPS was enough to bring his season OPS all the way to… .733, from .622. His OPS even dipped down to .613 early during this streak of games; going 1 for 6 with a single technically extends a hitting streak, but it doesn’t do much for an OPS.

Before that May 28 game, Lee had played in 39 games, and his OPS+ was about 30% below average. We’ve seen plenty of Twins prospects take the Green Line back to St. Paul for performances like that, including fellow infielder Edouard Julien (.607 OPS) this very year. Jose Miranda performed worse, but was only given 36 plate appearances before he was demoted to Triple-A.

So why was Lee’s case different?

There are some obvious answers. He was once briefly the Twins’ top prospect by some lists; he was a top-10 pick in a recent draft. He’s more aesthetically pleasing at the plate, even when he struggles, than Julien or Miranda can be. He’s got a big role in this team’s future.

Those undoubtedly play some role. But there’s one huge factor that has allowed him to work through his growing pains as a big-leaguer, when those two (or names like Mickey Gasper and Jonah Bride) got far less time to figure things out.

It’s defense.

How many games will the Twins win in the 2025 season?71-75

76-80

81-85

86-90

91-95

96+
Sometimes, it really is so simple. Teams need a reserve infielder. And even when Lee’s bat wasn’t productive early in the season, his glove was useful, especially given Willi Castro’s missed time due to injury and his declining performance in the field.

There are few baseball players in the world who can play a passable big-league shortstop. It’s the reason why a player like Kyle Farmer has seven years of MLB service time, despite being a below-average hitter his entire career. Lee is one of those guys.

That counts for something. Even when a player is hitting a hollow .230 after a quarter of a season, he can remain useful.

The Twins have shallow shortstop depth. Castro and Lee both have MLB experience at short behind Carlos Correa, but after that, the next men up are 30-year-old Ryan Fitzgerald (who made his MLB debut this season) or Payton Eeles, who has yet to play a major-league game. It’s almost imperative that Lee sticks on the roster, whether he’s hitting or not.

That plays into his benefit. His career is far more stable because he can defend. He’s not a great shortstop—probably not even a good one—but he’s serviceable. His lack of range limits his ceiling as a defender at second and third base, but he’s sure-handed and has a good arm.

Like many sure-handed, good-armed infielders with limited range, the eye test likes him more than the advanced metrics: he grades out about average at second and third and slightly below average at shortstop. But he’s no liability out there.

Contrast that to his closest counterparts, Miranda and Julien. Neither infielder plays shortstop, and they’re mostly constrained to third and second base, respectively. Both can play first base if necessary, but the Twins have avoided doing so.

And at their natural positions, although both have made strides defensively, the best anyone can hope for is an average performance. Even Austin Martin, an athletic infielder drafted higher than Lee, is a fringe roster player because he’s now mostly limited to the outfield and isn’t a trustworthy center fielder. When you don’t contribute to winning defensively, you have to hit.

It should be noted that most players aren’t expected to excel on both sides of the ball. The biggest reason that Lee was drafted in the top 10 of the 2022 Draft is that he had both an advanced hit tool and could defend adequately at multiple positions.

There are better defenders and better hitters, but when a player can potentially excel at both (or merely be average-plus), it’s a huge benefit to the organization. Some players have to hit because of their poor defense. Others have to defend because their offense will never be enough.

And some are given the time to figure it out because one side of their profile can do enough, at least for now. Many had hoped Lee would hit enough to be the everyday second baseman in 2025.

He didn’t show enough for that to happen, and he was kind of Wally Pipped by Kody Clemens, but he did prove valuable enough as a defender to fill an (almost-)everyday role as a utility infielder. That bought him the time that other, poorer defenders can’t have.

Lee didn’t need to hit to have a role on the team. Now that he is hitting, he’s played himself into a more prominent role.

Hopefully, things continue to trend up for the former top prospect, but it’s always nice for the player and valuable for the organization to have a skill that doesn’t fluctuate nearly so much. Hitting comes and goes, but professional play in the field is far more reliable.