Hak Ju Lee excited to be in Major League Baseball – MLB Tampa Bay Rays News
With Spring Training starting in a few days time, Tampa Bay Rays are looking to finalise their batting, pitching and fielding lineups. Rays’ manager Joe Maddon seems very busy making the right combinations to help his team make the most of available opportunities
in the upcoming season.
Fans will also be waiting for the star performers to get back to the ballpark. While the Rays’ may not be the strongest in American League, from hitting and pitching prospective, future of their shortstops looks very dazzling indeed. With so many good shortstops
in the Rays’ farm system, Maddon will be hoping to make the best possible choice. Hak Ju Lee is one of the most promising shortstops in the Rays’ minor league system. Although he is inexperienced at the MLB level, the 21 year old is convinced that he is ready
to accept the challenge.
"I'm ready now. I'm just ready, always ready," he said. "Work hard, play hard, that's it."
"Very eager to see him, absolutely," Maddon said in an interview. "You hear the same thing from everybody, it's pretty consistent: He's the full package. It's not just that he does this or that well — great defence, fine arm, moves the ball (with his bat),
very fast on the bases. So it's going to be exciting to watch this."
Lee was acquired from Chicago Cubs in a trade that also involved Matt Gaza. Batting with an incredible .318 average with 17 doubles, 11 triples, 28 steals, he looked in commanding form at Class A Charlotte. His sensational performances also won him the MVP
and Florida State League All Star awards. The young prospect is very excited to find himself in big league’s locker room for the first time in his career. It will be interesting to see if he can live up to his immense potential in 2012.
The Rays were unable to live to the hype in 2011. However, with more depth and variety in their offence and defence, the manager will not be looking to settle for anything less than the American League Central division title. No doubt, there will be immense
pressure to perform on players and the coaching staff.
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