Tigers Exciting Prospect Makes Incredible Defensive Play to Preserve Toledo Win

The Detroit Tigers may have a better defender on their hands than they thought in one of their top prospects.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have the best farm system in all of baseball, which at times can result in guys getting underrated behind huge stars.

Make no mistake though, there are names in this organization outside of the top guys like Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Bryce Rainer who are thought of very highly in the prospect and scouting community.

Tigers Prospect Hao-Yu Lee Showing Promise

One of those names is the No. 6 prospect in the organization in 22-year-old infielder Hao-Yu Lee.

Lee entered spring training as a relatively unheralded name, but by the middle of it was shockingly garnering some noise surrounding him being the team's third baseman of the future.

After he cooled off so did the hype -- at least for 2025 -- and he clearly needed some more time to develop, starting the season with Triple-A Toledo.

A powerful and quick bat, Lee is mature beyond his years, but not quite big league ready just yet.

While most of the traction surrounding him initially related to his bat, perhaps Lee's glove is not getting enough credit.

During a Tuesday night game against the Iowa Cubs, things went to extra innings and the top prospect in the organization for the Cubs came up to bat in the top of the 10th with the bases loaded.

Shaw slapped one the other way which immediately looked like it was about to score multiple runs and give Iowa the lead, however Lee had other ideas, making an incredible diving play to end the inning and keep the game tied:

HAO-YU LEE SHUTS THEM DOWN WITH BASES LOADED 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xQiPI2bgUs

— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) May 7, 2025

Lee's play sent the game into the bottom half where the Mud Hens were able to get the winning run across the plate.

The youngster is still not quite ready to take the next step to the big leagues, currently slashing this season .209/.307/.318 in 28 games with two home runs and 15 RBI, though this is an incredibly encouraging sign.

Lee is a very young player and in his first season in Triple-A. There's every reason to believe the hitting numbers will eventually come along.

Defensively, if he can be better than the Tigers might have thought he is and be able to play a key role in the infield down the line, Lee is going to make himself an indispensable asset to Detroit.

Fans already had a close eye on the young slugger, but he is currently proving his glove might be just as worth watching as his bat.