Has Hao-Yu Lee done enough to enter 2027 as the Tigers’ second baseman?

Hao-Yu Lee’s three-hit afternoon against Colorado on Saturday provided a convenient snapshot of the argument the Tigers will have to consider this winter.

Lee doubled home Brett Callahan in the fourth inning, doubled again to start Detroit’s seven-run eighth and then came back to the plate later in the inning and drove a two-run triple into right field. He finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs, two runs and a walk as the Tigers rallied for an 11-7 victory.

One game obviously should not determine who starts at second base next April. But after nearly 300 plate appearances and an extended opportunity to play around the Tigers’ infield, Lee has probably done enough to change the question.

It is no longer whether he belongs in the majors. The better question is whether Lee has shown enough for Detroit to enter the offseason viewing him as the favorite for second base in 2027.

At this point, I think the answer is yes, with an important qualifier. He should have the inside track. He has not done enough to simply be handed the position.

Entering Saturday, Lee was hitting .256/.314/.400 with eight home runs, 13 doubles and 37 RBIs over 297 plate appearances. He had struck out 73 times against 24 walks, producing a .714 OPS in his first extended major-league opportunity.

Saturday improves those numbers considerably. Based on the game log, Lee is now 72-for-275 with 15 doubles, two triples and eight home runs, which puts him at roughly .262/.321/.418 with a .739 OPS.

Nobody should confuse that with middle-of-the-order production, but that's not really the standard Lee has to reach to become a useful everyday second baseman. He's 23 years old, this is his first major-league season and there are underlying indicators suggesting there could still be more offense here.

The Statcast data is probably where the case gets more interesting.

Lee entered Saturday with an 89.8 mph average exit velocity, a 41% hard-hit rate and an 8.5% barrel rate. MLB averages shown alongside his Statcast data were 88.6 mph, 37.1% and 7.6%, respectively. His maximum exit velocity has reached 112.2 mph. The overall expected results aren't spectacular, with a .230 xBA, .389 xSLG and .299 xwOBA, but Lee has demonstrated that he can impact the baseball harder than his 5-foot-9 frame might suggest.

There is some swing-and-miss involved. His 24.6% strikeout rate entering Saturday was above the MLB average of 22.2% shown in the Statcast data, so this isn't simply a high-contact second baseman spraying balls around the field. Lee's offensive value is going to depend somewhat on maintaining the harder contact while continuing to develop his plate discipline.

If we're trying to figure out whether Lee is getting better rather than simply looking at his season totals, the period since Aug. 1 offers some useful information.

Lee hit .276/.364/.414 in August, drawing eight walks against 10 strikeouts over 66 plate appearances. That amounted to a .778 OPS.

September had been much rougher before Saturday. Lee entered the game just 3-for-26 this month, although seven walks had kept his on-base percentage at .303 despite the .115 batting average. Saturday changes the picture significantly.

Combining August with his September numbers through Saturday, Lee is approximately 22-for-89 (.247) with 16 walks, good for roughly a .362 on-base percentage and .755 OPS since the beginning of August.

So I wouldn't describe Lee as being on some prolonged tear.

What I find more interesting is what has happened underneath those results.

According to the bat-tracking data provided, Lee averaged 71.2 mph in bat speed before August with a 19.1% fast-swing rate and a 7.1-foot swing length. From Aug. 2 through Sept. 9, his average bat speed increased to 72.1 mph, while his fast-swing percentage jumped to 27%. His swing actually shortened slightly to 6.9 feet.

That's intriguing. Lee has been swinging the bat harder without accomplishing it by simply making the path longer.

There is another side of those numbers, though, and it keeps me from getting too carried away. His squared-up rate on contact dropped from 39.3% to 32.8%, while his ideal attack-angle percentage went from 57.3% to 51.5%. His blast rate on contact moved only marginally, from 15.1% to 16%.

In other words, the additional bat speed hasn't automatically resulted in better contact across the board. There is still work to do connecting the harder swing with more consistently squared-up baseballs.

That feels pretty normal for a 23-year-old adjusting to major-league pitching.

If there is one area that prevents me from writing Lee's name into the 2027 lineup in ink, it's his defense.

Lee has played 410 2/3 innings at second base this season, along with significant time at third, and his traditional .979 fielding percentage at second doesn't look particularly concerning. Statcast paints a different picture.

Lee is currently at minus-6 Outs Above Average at second base and minus-12 overall across his defensive positions. At second, he has converted approximately 76% of his opportunities compared with a 79% estimated success rate.

That's not something I would brush aside simply because the bat has shown promise.

If Lee eventually becomes a .780-to-.800 OPS hitter, Detroit can probably live with some defensive deficiencies. If he settles closer to the .714 OPS he carried into Saturday, then becoming at least an adequate second baseman defensively becomes considerably more important.

There is also some context here because Detroit has moved him around. Lee has appeared at second and third and even briefly at shortstop, rather than spending his entire rookie season developing at one position. If second base becomes his permanent home next spring, more consistent work at the position could help.

But right now, defense remains the clearest part of his game that needs improvement.

This discussion becomes much more relevant because the Tigers may actually have a vacancy.

Gleyber Torres is headed back to free agency after the season, and MLB.com's recent look at Detroit's offseason specifically identified second base as a position the Tigers could address. Lee was mentioned as an internal option, although Detroit could also look outside the organization.

That's why I would call Lee the inside-track candidate rather than the unquestioned starter.

He is already here. He's 23. He has produced a league-respectable offensive line in his first season. The quality of contact is encouraging, and we've seen enough extra-base impact to believe there is more than singles power in the bat. Detroit has also recently been willing to put him at second base and hit him near the top of the lineup, including batting him second Wednesday against Minnesota.

There are also legitimate reasons for the Tigers to keep their options open. The defense has not been good enough statistically. His expected offensive numbers suggest he hasn't exactly been unlucky. There is still swing-and-miss, and his production since Aug. 1 has been solid rather than overwhelming. That's fine.

Lee didn't need to establish himself as a finished product this season. He needed to demonstrate that there was enough here to warrant another opportunity. He has done that.

Saturday was probably the loudest example, with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs, but the larger argument isn't based on one afternoon against Colorado. It's based on nearly 300 plate appearances, above-average exit velocity and hard-hit numbers, increased bat speed over the past six weeks and enough offensive production to believe a 23-year-old hitter could still have another step ahead of him.

The Tigers don't need to promise Hao-Yu Lee anything going into 2027. Bringing in competition would make sense, and his defense should be one of the primary things to watch next spring.

But Detroit also shouldn't need to go searching for a second baseman simply because the position is open.

Lee has put himself in the conversation. At this point, he has probably done enough that everyone else should be trying to take the job from him rather than Lee trying to prove he deserves a chance at it.