The Victoria HarbourCats can proudly proclaim they touched pitcher Gabriel Hughes for three runs in two inning in a West Coast League game in Bellingham in 2019. But the HarbourCats were not as successful against Brooks Lee, who led the Corvallis Knights past Victoria 2-1 in the best-of-three 2019 WCL final.
Infielder Lee was taken eighth overall by the Minnesota Twins and Hughes 10th overall by the Colorado Rockies on Sunday in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft. It is the sixth consecutive draft in which a former WCL player has been selected in the first round, although they are listed as coming out of their university teams — Cal Poly for Lee and Gonzaga for Hughes.
“This again shows that we are part of the stepping stones to the draft and MLB,” said Jim Swanson, co-owner and managing partner of the group that owns the HarbourCats and Nanaimo NightOwls of the WCL.
“You must have a body of work to show scouts. And summer collegiate ball provides the type of pro-style grind that stands out to scouts. A college schedule [basically weekend-only play] is not a pro schedule. Summer collegiate ball is a pro-like schedule with the grind of day-in and day-out games and travel.”
Lee became the fourth highest drafted player to come out of the WCL. He is behind only former Corvallis catcher Adley Rutschman, the top overall pick in 2019 by the Baltimore Orioles, former HarbourCats first-baseman Andrew Vaughn, third overall in 2019 to the Chicago White Sox, and former Corvallis shortstop Nick Madrigal, fourth overall in 2018 to the White Sox. Hughes is the sixth highest drafted player out of the WCL after former Wenatchee AppleSox second-baseman Keston Hiura, ninth overall in 2017 to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Lee could turn out special, even among that heady group.
“One of the great pleasures of my job is seeing all the tremendous young talent in our league,” said WCL commissioner Rob Neyer, in a statement.
“But even among that talent, Brooks absolutely stood out when I saw him in the summer of 2019. I wasn’t smart enough to know he’d be drafted No. 8 someday. But I knew he was among the best young players I’ll ever be lucky enough to see up close.”
The current group of WCL aspirants, meanwhile, continue strutting their stuff for the scouts when the HarbourCats (7-6 in the second half and 18-21 overall) host the North Division first-half champion Bellingham Bells (4-5 and 23-12) tonight at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park to begin a three-game set.
Victoria concluded a three-game series against Yakima Valley with five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 6-3 victory over the Pippins (8-4 and 17-22) on Sunday as catcher Russell Young homered on a two-hit, five RBI day.
Nanaimo (1-8 and 13-22), meanwhile, halted a seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory Sunday in Bellingham over the Bells. The NightOwls began a three-game series against the Pippins on Monday night at Serauxmen Stadium in the Harbour City.
