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Hao-Yu Lee is the Phillies' Next International Success

Hao-Yu Lee signed a $500,000 international amateur contract to play with the Phillies in 2021. Now's he shown he can perform above his age-level in America, so what's next for the young slugger?

Author:
Ben Silver
Mar 9, 2022 3:00 PM EST

The Philadelphia Phillies have not had a deep history of success with amateurs at the international level. While National League East rivals Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals have mega-stars Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto obliterating major league talent, it’s taken the Phillies years to develop a substantial presence in Latin America.

However, the Phillies latest potential success story may not come from Latin America at all, but instead from East Asia baseball powerhouse Taiwan. Hao-Yu Lee, signed in June 2021 for $500,000.

While Taiwan may lag behind Japan and South Korea in terms of their baseball exports, both Chien-Ming Wang and Wei-Yin Chen hail from Taiwan while their top professional league has featured former MLB star Manny Ramirez.

The Phillies' Hao-Yu Lee could be their first hitter to have international success in America.

Lee came to America late in the 2021 season and was able to see action in only nine games, but in 25 plate appearances during those games, Lee slashed .364/.440/.773 with two doubles, two triples, and a home run. At just 18-years-old, it seems the second baseman may already have a handle on rookie-ball.

In an article by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Phillies farm director Preston Mattingly has already taken notice, “The instincts stand out. He’s advanced for his age.” Mattingly continued, “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.”

Standing at just 5'10", Lee isn’t imposing, but a 209 lbs. frame having just turned 19-years-old in February gives some merit to Mattingly’s comments. Lee is built.

He's not just built physically, but built for baseball, built to compete. Sal Agostinelli, Phillies international scouting director said of Lee, “He makes an out, he’s not happy.”

Speaking through an interpreter, Lee addressed his drive for the game and urge to move through the Phillies system, “I have that competitive mentality. I like to show it. That’s how I like to play the game. The short-term goal is to start over there in [Low-A] Clearwater with the Threshers. Then possibly go to High A [Jersey Shore].”

The Phillies have had international players reach the big league club before, in 2017, Hyun-Soo Kim made 97 plate appearances and in 2009, Chan-Ho Park threw 87.1 innings in red pinstripes, then 3.1 scoreless innings in the World Series.

But they’ve never directly signed a player from Asia who’s made the big league roster. Kim and Park were both already established in MLB before they arrived in Philadelphia.

Lee not only has a barrier to break learning English as a native Chinese speaker, but also a barrier to break as an international Asian in the Phillies system.

His emergence as a top player for the Phillies in the future could help spread Phillies fandom far beyond the reaches of Philadelphia, to Taiwan and Asia where young players can see a reflection of themselves in the major leagues as Citizens Bank Park.