On June 7, 2010, the Dodgers selected (then) 18-year-old right-hander Zach Lee out of McKinney High School in McKinney, TX, as their first-round draft pick. He was the 28th overall pick in 2010.

Things did not work out well for the Plano, TX native who, after five seasons in the Dodgers Minor League system, made his one and only Major League start for the Dodgers on July 25, 2015.

In his 4.2 innings of work, Lee allowed seven runs on 11 hits in the eventual 15-2 loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field.

On June 19, 2016, the Dodgers traded Lee to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for utility infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor … and we all know who won that trade.

Over the next five seasons, Lee was:

• December 13, 2016: Selected off waivers by the San Diego Padres from the Seattle Mariners.
• August 14, 2017: Released by the San Diego Padres.
• March 18, 2018: Signed as a Free Agent with the Tampa Bay Rays.
• November 2, 2018: Granted Free Agency.
• November 15, 2018: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets.
• November 4, 2019: Granted Free Agency.
• November 15, 2019: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.
• November 2, 2020: Granted Free Agency.
• February 6, 2021: Signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• August 10, 2021: Released by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• September 1, 2021: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cincinnati Reds.
• November 7, 2021: Granted Free Agency.

By every indication, it appeared that the former first-round draft pick’s professional baseball career was over.

It is not.

On Saturday evening, this was posted on Twitter by MLB Trade Rumors:

Upon clicking on the link, MLB Trade Rumors‘ Mark Polishuk wrote:

The Rockies signed right-hander Zach Lee to a minor league deal, as per the team’s official transactions page. The 28th overall pick of the 2010 draft, Lee was a regular on top-100 prospect lists during his time in the Dodgers farm system, but Los Angeles fans may remember Lee best as the player dealt to the Mariners for Chris Taylor in June 2016.  Lee has pitched only 12 2/3 innings at the big league level and hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2017, bouncing around to several different organizations on minor league contracts.  Still only 30 years old, Lee will now head to the Rockies’ camp to try and earn another trip back to the Show.

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Although success hasn’t come easy for the extremely personable (now) 30-year-old right-hander, his perseverance and determination is unmatched. As such, it is impossible not to root for and wish nothing but the best for new Rockies right-hander Zach Lee.

Play Ball!

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