Dylan Lee is Ready to Turn Some Heads at Miami Marlins Spring Training

Dylan Lee blasted through the Miami Marlins minor league system in 2018, making debuts at high-A, double-A, and triple-A.

This offseason, we here at the Miami Marlins FanSided blog, Marlin Maniac, are recapping every player to appear in the 2018 system. There’s 286 in total. Lee is the 264th that we’re writing about.

Dylan Ryan Lee is a 6’4″, 210 lb. left-handed batting and throwing pitcher from Dinuba, California, population 24,034. Dinuba has produced one major leaguer, pitcher Dave Odom, back in 1943. He played in 22 games for the Boston Braves.

Lee was born on August 1st, 1994, and attended Dinuba HS. As a collegiate athlete, he played two seasons of junior college ball with College of the Sequoias and two more with the Fresno State Bulldogs. In total, he was 20-9 with a 3.55 ERA, 177 strikeouts in 237 innings, and a 1.22 WHIP. Follow Lee on Twitter @DRLee45.

In 2016, the Miami Marlins chose Lee in the 10th round of the MLB Amateur Entry Draft and signed him for a $10,000 bonus. A 293rd overall choice, Lee could be the eighth major leaguer to make the majors from the “293 Club.” The group is led by Doug Davis (1996, Texas Rangers, 18.4 career WAR).

After signing, Lee joined the rookie-level, Florida-based GCL Marlins in the Gulf Coast League on June 24th, 2016, and got into four contests in relief. He struck out six in six innings, and allowed five baserunners. That was good enough for the Miami Marlins to push him up one level to the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs, in the New York-Penn League.

For the Muckdogs, Lee played in eight games, including five starts. He only struck out seven over 23 innings, but also the opposition to a 1.087 WHIP and a 2.35 ERA.

In 2017, Lee spent the entire season with the full-season-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League. He struck out 73 and held opponents to a 1.292 WHIP in 98 1/3 innings of work. Lee was saddled with an injury late in the season, which landed him on the disabled list from July 26th through the end of the campaign.

2018 would start with Lee reassigned to the high-A Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League. He was 6-2 with a 1.45 ERA in 22 relief appearances, with 25 K’s in 31 innings and a dead-even 1.000 WHIP. From April 5th through May 31st, he collected a 0.73 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. On June 9th, Lee earned his sixth win when he pitched two perfect innings and struck out three in a 2-1, seven-inning win over the Florida Fire Frogs. For his time with the Sharks, Lee was named to the FSL Mid-Season All-Star team. Here’s Lee with the Hammerheads, courtesy of 2080 Baseball.

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Assigned to the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp soon after that, Lee allowed only five hits and walked one over 15 innings of work while striking out 19. That’s a WHIP of 0.400 if you’re counting. Satisfied, the Miami Marlins promoted him another level at the end of July, to the triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes in the Pacific Coast League.

In his debut on July 29th with New Orleans, Lee pitched two innings and allowed one hit while striking out four in a 7-5 loss to the Tacoma Rainiers. As a triple-player, Lee struck out 19 in 16 innings while allowing a 3.38 ERA. Between all three levels, he pitched to a 1.60 ERA and a 0.968 WHIP and was named to the MILB.COM Organizational All-Star Team.

On January 22nd, Lee was extended a non-roster invitation to the Miami Marlins Spring Training in Jupiter. With this team, perhaps more than any other, Lee has a shot at getting to the majors this year, maybe even right out of the gate. At any rate, Lee should make his major league debut at some point this season either way, despite his status as an “unrated” prospect.