The Mets haven’t had an elite Black prospect under the age of 25 in a long time. Rookie Khalil Lee took his first step towards changing that narrative on Friday night.
Congrats to MLB Bro Khalil Lee, who earned his first callup to the major leagues this month, getting thrown into the fire after a plethora of injuries to Mets players.
He proceeded to strike out in his first eight MLB at-bats.
The ninth time was a charm for Khalil, who got his first career base hit and RBI to put the Mets up 4-3 in the top of the 12th inning, en route to a 6-5 win over the Florida Marlins.
Welcome to Ny @lilswingman24 ! #MLBRO putting on a clutch show https://t.co/ba6frTNFSU
— MLBbro.com (@MLBbrodotcom) May 22, 2021
What a way to get your first MLB hit. The MLB Bro met the challenge on Saturday night and is officially a member of the Black Knights of Baseball fraternity.
Beast From The Northeast
A 22-year-old native of Newark, Delaware, Lee played high school baseball at Flint Hill in Oakton, Virginia, and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals with the 103rd pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.
He turned down Liberty University to sign and pursue his MLB dream. An opportunity less than 8 percent of Black and Brown ballers are able to capitalize on.
Lee was traded to the Mets as part of a three-team deal in February that sent then-Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals. The Mets assigned Lee to Triple-A Syracuse where he hit .250 (4-for-16) in six games.
Lee is currently a Top 10 prospect in the Mets organization, according to MLB.com and the site has also assigned the following scouting grades to Lee (20-80 scale). He’s a 50 overall when combining his hitting, power, running, arm, and fielding skills.
Rushed Up In The Clutch
Scouts say Lee’s MLB promotion might be a bit premature, but the Mets are hurting right now. The young breed is the beneficiary of a team desperately trying to hold onto first place in the NL East and tread water until all of its missing pieces return. Lee will get some much-needed experience filling in where needed.
Lee’s bat needs some work but scouts are enamored with his speed and his rifle arm in the outfield.
One hit is not a career make, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to predict that once Lee gets some consistent at-bats under his belt, he could become a very good pro.
Lee was an elite two-way player in high school. In addition to hitting .471 with six home runs at the plate for Flint High School in 2016, he was also on some pro radars as an elite pitching prospect. Lee went 7-0 on the mound with an 0.33 ERA.
He’s definitely got the pedigree. He’s a former Perfect Game preseason All-American and Louisville Slugger preseason High School All-American who once pitched a five-inning perfect game with 13 Ks.
The Mets have not had an athlete of this caliber in some time, let’s hope he continues to develop and capitalize on this opportunity