The road to the Major Leagues has been very bumpy for Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Zach Lee, but all is worth it now as he will make his Major League debut this evening in Flushing, New York against the New York Mets.
Lee, who was taken with the 28th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Dodgers, began his rise through the system very well by posting a 9-6 record, 3.47 ERA, and 91 strikeouts in 109 innings with the Great Lakes Loons (Single-A) in 2011, which led to a promotion to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Single-A Advanced) for the following season.
Although the Texas native thrived in his first month of California League action, May of 2012 brought much different results since he allowed seven earned runs in four innings with the Island Empire 66ers. Don't worry, Lee bounced back from the beatdown with six frames of one run ball against the same team five days later.
As the starter became more and more accustomed to the hitter friendly confines of California baseball, the Dodgers decided to up the challenge by moving the former first round draft pick to Chattanooga Lookouts (Double-A). The transition did not go well as Lee allowed five plus runs in three of his first five starts to skyrocket his earned run average. Eventually though, the right hander was able to tap into past success by finishing the season with three quality starts (2 ER in 19 IP) that built the framework for the next year's 2013 Southern League All-Star campaign (10-10, 3.22 ERA, and 131 SO).
Unfortunately like his first year at Double-A, in 2014 Triple-A re-surfaced more bad performances including 15 (of 27) starts of more than four earned runs being plated against him. In all honesty, Lee's 2014 season could not have gone any worse considering the 15 awful pitching performances, his 5.38 ERA, and his value of a prospect dropping greatly. In fact, most analysts saw 2014 as a sign that Zach Lee would never be a Big League pitcher. He would prove them wrong.
Due to the Los Angeles Dodgers changing their Triple-A affiliate to the Oklahoma City Dodgers from the Albuquerque Isotopes, the twenty-three year old received a fresh start at the same level and he did not waste it.
Right out of the gates Lee was throwing the ball much better in 2015 thanks to further development of all pitches. And his improvement did not just make him the ace of OKC but one of the best in the PCL as he had a 5-3 record and 2.38 ERA in ten starts. Despite finger numbness keeping the six foot, three inch pitcher from being chosen to the 2015 Pacific Coast League All-Star team, Lee won his first four starts after a month on the 7-day DL (one start with GCL Dodgers, one with Rancho Cucamonga, and two back with Oklahoma City), which made him the best candidate to take the ball today in place of Brandon Beachy, who has had two rough starts since making his return from two Tommy John surgeries.