Brooks Lee’s 2026 season gave the Twins something they hadn’t gotten from him before: real production. After two rough years in the majors, the former first-round pick finally put together a breakout, and the numbers back it up.
Over his first 712 plate appearances, Lee had just a 71 wRC+, and his glove didn’t help much either. He posted -6 Outs Above Average while bouncing between second base, third base and shortstop, leaving him at 0.0 Wins Above Replacement at FanGraphs across 189 games. Then came 2026, when the 25-year-old hit .253/.300/.407 with 24 home runs and a 101 wRC+ in 631 plate appearances.
A big part of that jump came from the left side of the plate. As a switch-hitter, Lee was much more dangerous batting left-handed, putting up a 120 wRC+ over 424 plate appearances in 2026.
That was a huge leap from the combined 69 wRC+ he managed from that side over the previous two seasons. He was worse from the right side, where he had a 63 wRC+ in 2026, down from a combined 77 wRC+ in his first two years, but that mattered less because he took about 200 fewer trips to the plate from that box.
The defensive change was just as important. In late May, Lee moved from being Minnesota’s primary shortstop to a full-time third baseman, and the difference was stark.
He went from one of the least effective shortstops in baseball to an elite third baseman, finishing with 6 OAA over 284 attempts. Put it all together, and Lee delivered his first positive season both at the plate and in the field, good for 2.9 fWAR.
That total made him the Twins’ second-most valuable player by fWAR, behind only Luke Keaschall at 3.0. By the numbers alone, Lee was Minnesota’s second-best player.
That still doesn’t quite feel like the whole story. Byron Buxton is better than Lee, but he missed a significant chunk of the season.
Ryan Jeffers had the same issue. Joe Ryan is also a better starting pitcher than Lee is a position player.
Injuries and a late-season collapse dragged those players down in the WAR race, and Lee ended up above them.
Even with the breakout, there’s a reason his season still leaves people guessing. His underlying hitting metrics didn’t really move in a dramatic way.
His bat speed was still poor. He kept chasing pitches out of the zone.
He didn’t walk much. He made a lot of weak contact, just like he had in 2024 and 2025.
The wRC+ spike was real, but it came with a nagging question: what actually changed?
The answer appears to be approach. In 2026, Lee made a major shift in how he attacked at the plate, putting quality of contact ahead of simply putting the ball in play.
He hit strikes in the air more often, and that helped turn his raw tools into production. He finished with more doubles and home runs in 2026 alone, 49, than he had in 2024 and 2025 combined, when he totaled 40.
With better contact quality and a stronger defensive home at third base, Lee finally looked like the player the Twins had been waiting for.
Still, the warning signs remain loud. If that approach slips back to where it was before 2026, he could fall right back into sub-replacement territory in 2027.
And if that happens, there’s a real chance he plays himself out of an everyday role. Third base gives him a higher floor, but a contender can’t keep running out a 69 wRC+ hitter every day.
On the other hand, if Lee’s 2026 is the start of something bigger, he could take another leap and turn into an All-Star-caliber player early next season. That kind of range is exactly what makes him so hard to pin down.
Three years into his big-league career, Brooks Lee still sits in that uncomfortable middle ground: breakout candidate, regression risk, maybe even a future All-Star. For the Twins, that uncertainty cuts both ways.
It means one of their biggest improvements in 2026 still can’t be counted on. It also means the upside is very much there.
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Former Twins Star Loses Latest Postseason Chance At Worst Time
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Instead, utilityman Otto Kemp will take Arraezs place on the roster, leaving the Phillies to adjust their postseason plans without one of their more reliable bats. For Minnesota fans, its another reminder of how quickly a familiar name can be pulled out of the spotlight, with Arraezs latest playoff opportunity slipping away before the series even begins. [Read more 🡒]