Tigers prospect Lee making strides with adjustments in Triple-A

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck's Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Hao Yu Lee had been on a roller coaster with offspeed pitches for much of Wednesday night. The St. Paul Saints have seen enough of the Tigers’ No. 7 prospect this summer to know he loves to attack fastballs. But when lefty reliever Christian McLeod tried to steal a first-pitch strike with a changeup, Lee was all over it, ripping it off the left-field wall for his 20th double of the season. Just as big, this one was for an RBI, the first run of what had been a scoreless duel for the Mud Hens with the Twins’ top affiliate.

“Just reacted to it,” Lee said later through interpreter Peter Lin.

Still, as he makes his way to the home stretch of his first season at Triple-A, Lee is learning how to react to familiar foes and their adjustments -- in this case, the third Toledo-St. Paul series of the season.

“Every team's different, but it's kind of the same way,” Lee said. “If they throw a heater and got ambushed, they're not going to do the same thing. They're going to change it up.”

Just as impressive among Lee’s adjustments was his previous at-bat two innings earlier. Lee fouled off three consecutive pitches to extend an at-bat against McLeod before chasing a high fastball for a strikeout. He calmly went back to the dugout, but didn’t take it into his next at-bat.

For a hitter who can admittedly be tough on himself, and spent part of Spring Training talking with Tigers sluggers Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter about how they deal with strikeouts, it’s a sign of how he has come along.

“Obviously it's different from here and with the big leagues,” he said. “Obviously there's still a little bit of a gap. But this is what I've learned so far this year, that I feel I am more comfortable in temper management.”

Others have noticed.

“He’s grown a lot. I’m so proud of who he’s becoming,” said Mud Hens manager Gabe Alvarez, who also managed Lee at Double-A Erie last year. “He’s able to channel his intensity the right way now. He’s a player that’s fiery. He’s a player that cares. He’s a player that wants to succeed, that wants to win, and he’s able to kind of keep all those emotions in check now. And for him to do that, and basically in a year, it’s remarkable and I really commend him for what he’s done, the control that he’s had.

“He wants to be great, and I think this is why he’s going to be a longtime Major Leaguer, because he comes to the ballpark wanting to get better every day.”

This season has been a test for him. After a challenging opening month, Lee went on a tear in May, posting a .326 average and .910 OPS. He was hit in the face by a pitch in early June, came back less than a week later, was hit by a couple more pitches later in the month, then hit four home runs in an eight-game stretch. Lee still hit just .203 for June, then .209 with 25 strikeouts in July, despite some impressive power.

Now Lee is finding his finishing kick, just in time to help the Mud Hens on a late-season surge -- and just in time for the Tigers’ stretch run. Lee entered Thursday with a 10-game hitting streak, batting .269 in August with 10 RBIs, a .352 wOBA and a .799 OPS. Nine of his 21 hits have gone for extra bases, despite a lower average exit velocity for the month.

“It's mostly reaction, according to the pitches,” he said. “I've noticed that if I try to pull some pitches, the results aren't really that good most of the time.”

Said Alvarez: “I think with him, staying in the zone, that’s part of his ongoing development. He hits the ball awfully hard, and I think when he stays under control and swings at good pitches, that’s when he can really do some damage.”

Most of that damage has come against lefties (.293 average, .937 OPS, compared with .232 and .711 against righties). With Andy Ibáñez and Jahmai Jones filling lefty-killer roles in Detroit, and Matt Vierling close to beginning a rehab assignment, it’s challenging to see Lee in such a role in Detroit as a September call-up. Regardless of what happens, Lee is trying to finish strong and make their decision tough.

“It's pretty hard not to follow the Tigers' season. I'm very happy that they are in the postseason hunt right now,” Lee said. “As far as getting called up and helping the team, I respect their decisions, but whatever they decide, I'll do my best to follow it. As of right now, I'm trying to focus on myself and getting better.

“It's their decision to make, basically. I just have to prepare myself and let the [numbers] show what I do out there.”