Let’s face it, making it to The Show is arguably among the most difficult tasks on the planet. Not only must you be beyond exceptional in high school or college to catch the eye(s) of highly-respected baseball scouts, in most cases you have to be drafted within the first 10 rounds to have a legitimate shot at getting there.

But as crazy as it may seem and as time has shown us again and again, even being drafted in the first round isn’t a guarantee that you will enjoy a lucrative – and even more so lengthy – major league career; hence that ‘among the most difficult tasks on the planet’ thing. And even if you do make it, staying there is even more difficult.

Enter Zach Lee – and yes, the title of this article was a pun often associated with his punny name.

Born on September 13, 1991, the now 28-year-old Plano, TX native was selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of McKinney High School in McKinney, TX. The tall and lean (6′-4″/227-pound) hard-throwing right-hander was the 28th overall selection and the Dodgers first. Needless to say, (then) Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and everyone in the Dodgers organization thought they had hit pay dirt when they landed Lee.

They did not.

After what can, at best, be called a mediocre five years in the Dodgers minor league system during which he posted a combined 45-41 record (.523), Lee was called up to The Show on July 25, 2015, as a 23 -year old.

It did not go well.

In what would end up being his one and only major league appearance (and start) as a Dodger, Lee allowed seven runs on 11 hits (including one home run), with one walk and three strikeouts in his 4.2-inning major league debut for a horrendous 13.50 ERA. He was immediately sent back down to Triple-A Oklahoma City following the Dodgers disastrous 15-2 loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Lee’s next major league appearance (and start) wouldn’t come until April 12, 2017, as a member of the San Diego Padres which, of course, means that the Dodgers traded their former first-round draft pick.

And what a trade it was.

On June 19, 2016, the Dodgers traded Lee to the Seattle Mariners for a little known utility infielder/outfielder by the name of Chris Taylor. Over the next three and a half seasons, CT3 (as he affectionately became known by Dodger fans) would post an impressive slash line of .266/.337/.463/.800, with 51 home runs, 100 doubles, 19 triples, and 194 RBI. Lee, on the other hand, would eventually be placed on waivers by the Mariners and was signed by the Padres on December 13, 2016.

Lee appeared in a grand total of three games (one start) with San Diego, posting a 1-0 record and 5.63 ERA over his combined 8.0 innings pitched, and was released on August 14, 2017. He was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays on March 18, 2018, but was released at the end of the season. He was then signed as a free agent by the New York Mets on November 15, 2018, but again granted free agency at the end of the season.

On November 15, 2019, Lee was signed by the Oakland Athletics and received a non-roster invitation to major league Spring Training camp in Mesa, AZ. In his four Spring Training 2020 appearances with the A’s (all in relief), Lee went 2-0 with an impressive 3.68 ERA. By all indications, it appeared as though the one-time Dodgers first-round draft pick had earned his way back to The Show.

And then the coronavirus hit.

Although no one knows for sure when (if) major league baseball will resume in 2020, there is a pretty good chance that when (if) it does, Zach Lee will be part of it.

…and that’s pretty cool when you consider exactly what Zach Lee has gone through … pun intended.

Play Ball!

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