Detroit Tigers President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris makes his first trade.

Apparently, Scott Harris and Dave Dombrowski have a good relationship as the Tigers make their second trade with the Philadelphia Phillies in less than a year. Detroit trades right-handed starter Michael Lorenzen for infielder Hao-Yu Lee. Lee, a native of Taiwan, will be the first positional player of Taiwanese descent to play for the Tigers in any capacity. He is considered the number five prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. and was ranked sixth on FanGraphs Top 33. 

Tigers are close to trading Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies.

Infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee is part of the proposed return heading to Detroit. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 1, 2023

Right-handed hitting Lee, who stands at 5’9″, is just 20 years old. During his full season at High-A Jersey Shore, he maintained a batting average of .279. Lee fits the mold of what Scott Harris wants, with a low strikeout rate and the ability to draw walks. He is also versatile in the infield, capable of playing shortstop, second base, and third base. Despite having only five home runs, his power is rated at 55. He is considered a bat first type of prospect, but has above-average hands in the infield.

One possible reason for his relatively lower numbers could be attributed to missing time late last season because of a wrist fracture. Looking at his batting stance, he is a type of hitter who crowds the plate, but when he strides in his swing, he can get hands out quick. After starting his career in High-A as a pull happy hitter, the percentage has dropped from 42.3% to 32.1% in 2023.

Hao-Yu Lee highlight from today. pic.twitter.com/VJJeSnotBT

— Tigers Torkmoil (@bythewaybro) August 1, 2023

A second straight @jag_onept win for the Walk-Off Claws – take it away Hao-Yu Lee! pic.twitter.com/3A366TVLhy

— Jersey Shore BlueClaws (@BlueClaws) July 28, 2023

Detroit Tigers continue to build their player profile

If there was one thing Lee wanted to do in the off-season was work on his defense. Per Alex Coffey in Baseball America ($), he worked with former Tigers infielder Adam Everett in instructional league in October 2022.

Everett gave Lee drills to work on while he was at home in Taiwan. Lee said he worked on them every day this offseason, and the repetition has paid off.

“All of my problems with defense start with my footwork,” Lee said through a interpreter. “It feels way better now, because I’ve been working on it every day.”

With his reputation of being a “fiery” and upbeat player, Lee should be a good fit for Detroit. We expect him to join the Whitecaps at some point this week as they host Lake County starting on Tuesday.

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