New arrival Hak-Ju Lee looking to impress at Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays had been quiet all season, and for a large part of the winter break. They should have realised the need for reinforcements, when a number of veteran players made their way out of the side recently. Nevertheless, a deal that brought in
some great talent to the club had already been considered.
The world of Major League Baseball (MLB) is a strange one. Tough trade deals look to strengthen clubs, and that is one of the avenues the Chicago Cubs exploited, when they accepted a trade deal with the Rays that saw eight players move across the country.
The Cubs were looking to add more power to their pitching rotation, and they did so with Matt Garza. With two additional minor leaguers making their way to the club, the Rays were going to get a great set of prospects.
With a batch of two outfielders and a catcher, the Rays acquired Chris Archer and Hak-Ju Lee. Lee, who is a Korean Native and plays on the shortstop position, is one of the replacement players in the Rays line-up who can provide cover to new official starting
shortstop Reid Brignac.
Lee was phenomenal with the Cubs and Minor League side Class A Peoria, where he managed to generate a batting average of .282 in 122 games. He availed 32 base steals, 22 doubles and 85 runs in his pro season back in 2009. On the other hand, the prospect
made the news by batting with a .330 average while playing for the Class A Boise.
The Korean native can be looked at as a comfortable customer in the American game. He’s adapted well to the conditions and his baseball skills are quite impressive. Cubs’ minor infield instructor Franklin Font sees a lot of potential in the player, and it
comes as no surprise that the Rays have bagged him as part of the deal.
"He's more mature," Font said. "Every time he plays, he gets better. Baseball is different in Korea than here, than in the Dominican, than in Venezuela. He's learning about playing Minor League baseball. He's better in the clubhouse, better outside the clubhouse."
Lee is compared to Starlin Castro, who made his mark with the Cubs in May 2010. The player from Double – A Tennessee maintained an average of .300 with the bat in 125 games.
Lee was pleased about the comparisons with Castro, but stressed that there was still a long way to go. He said, "I appreciate the people who say I'm better than Castro, but I'm not right now, not yet. I saw that he moved up to the big leagues and I will
work hard to get there."
Tags: