Emerging Phillies prospect idolizes Giancarlo Stanton, not Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper may be the reigning National League MVP, but he’s not the hitter Philadelphia Phillies prospect Lee Hao-Yu is watching as he works towards a major-league career of his own.
According to MLB.com, who caught up with Lee in Clearwater this week at minor-league Spring Training, the Taiwanese prospect loves to watch baseball, especially film of a certain New York Yankees slugger:
"“I watch film,” Lee said through an interpreter this week at Carpenter Complex. “Sometimes it’s film of myself. Sometimes it’s film of a big leaguer. I love Giancarlo Stanton. But when I’m bored, I’ll watch baseball.I love playing baseball. It doesn’t matter where, if I’m playing baseball, I’m very happy to do it. When I’m right here, it’s already super fun. But if I can communicate well enough with my teammates and coaches, I’ll be like 100 percent more involved. I’ll enjoy the game more.”"
Stanton won the NL MVP in 2017, in between Harper’s 2015 and 2021 trophies. He was also a four-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger over eight years with the Florida/Miami Marins.
However, since his blockbuster trade to the Yankees, injuries have kept him off the field and he’s struggled at the plate. In 2018, he struck out a career-high 211 times. His feast-or-famine approach certainly isn’t one Lee should mimic.
Who is Phillies prospect Lee Hao-Yu?
Signed last June for $500,000, the 19-year-old second baseman is a rising star in the Phillies system, and MLB reports that he is already “building a reputation as a baseball rat.”
New player development director Preston Mattingly had high praise for Lee:
"“The instincts stand out. He’s advanced for his age. I think getting exposed to some of that international play, I think it helped him. He just puts himself in a really good position to hit. He’s going to be on everything, and he has a really good awareness of the strike zone. He’s as strong as a bull, too. He’s humongous. He’s going to have power.”"
Before Lee was raking in rookie ball, he was playing for Team Taiwan in the Under-18 Baseball World Cup, leading his team to a gold medal over none other than Team USA. His 2021 Florida Complex League (rookie-level) debut was only nine games, but he went 8-for-22 with nine runs scored, two doubles, two triples, a home run, five RBI, three walks, and only five strikeouts.