Lee looking to build off successful 2015 season
Zach Lee didn’t make the L.A. Dodgers’ roster coming out of Spring Training, but he was named Oklahoma City’s starter for Thursday’s 6:35 p.m. season opener in Nashville.
Zach Lee nearly got his second chance at a major league start, but instead he gets a crack at Triple-A’s opening day.
Lee battled throughout spring training for Los Angeles’ fifth spot in the starting rotation, even after the 6-foot-4 right-hander was optioned to minor league camp in late March. He ultimately came up short, but was named Oklahoma City’s starter for Thursday’s 6:35 p.m. season opener in Nashville.
“Anytime, any level you get an opening day, you’re thrilled and honored about it,” Lee said.
Lee, 24, partly earned the start because of his throwing schedule, according to OKC manager Bill Haselman. But Lee also threw well last season in OKC when he went 11-6 with a 2.70 ERA over 19 starts.
Yet it’s his MLB debut that sticks out. He was roughed up by the New York Mets for 11 hits and seven runs in 4-2/3 innings before being sent back to OKC.
Had he won the battle in spring training, he would have gotten his a chance to redeem himself.
“I thought I threw the ball well,” Lee said. “For the most part, spring training is trying to get your feet back underneath you, get comfortable on the mound and I threw the ball pretty well.
“Obviously, there’s some mistakes there, but in any spring you’re going to have some mistakes. It’s a matter of getting ready for the season and preparing for Day 1.”
Lee was a first-round draft pick in 2010 out of McKinney High School in Texas. He opted to sign with the Dodgers despite being big quarterback recruit — regarded as a fourstar prospect by Rivals.com — who had signed with LSU.
Since joining the Dodgers’ organization, Lee has been named the Dodgers’ Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year twice.
But in an organization full of blue chip pitching prospects, he’s still working to turn heads. He had an ERA above 4.00 in spring training.
“I don’t think he has one wipeout pitch that might wow you,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told the Orange County Register last month. “But when his command is good, when he’s down in the zone and working the cutter, the change and the sinker, changing eye levels with the fastball up, there’s some things he can do. “When Zach’s right, he gets major-league hitters out.” That’s all Lee is hoping to do. “I just need to be a little bit more consistent,” Lee said.