Khalil Lee facts for kids

Khalil Rashad Lee (born June 26, 1998) is an American professional baseball player. He plays as an outfielder and is currently a free agent. He used to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. Khalil made his big league debut in 2021.

Khalil Lee's Baseball Journey

Early Days in Baseball

Khalil Lee went to Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia. There, he was a star player on the baseball team. He was both a pitcher and an outfielder. In his final year, he had an amazing pitching record of 7 wins and 0 losses. He also had a very low ERA (Earned Run Average) of 0.33. This means he rarely let other teams score runs. He struck out 87 batters in just 43 innings!

At the same time, Khalil was a great hitter. He batted .471, which is almost hitting a base hit half the time. He also hit six home runs and brought in 23 runs. Because of his excellent performance, he was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for Virginia.

Playing for the Kansas City Royals

Khalil had planned to play college baseball at Liberty University. But then, the Kansas City Royals picked him in the third round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He decided to sign with the Royals instead of going to college.

The Royals sent him to play as an outfielder for their team in the Arizona League. In 49 games, he hit .269 with six home runs and 29 runs batted in. He also scored 43 runs and hit eight triples.

In 2017, he played for the Lexington Legends. He hit 17 home runs and had 61 RBIs. He also stole 18 bases. In one game in July 2017, Khalil set a professional baseball record. He struck out eight times in a very long 21-inning game!

MLB.com thought Khalil was the Royals' best young player before the 2018 season. He started that year with the Wilmington Blue Rocks and was named a Carolina League All-Star. Later, he moved up to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Between these two teams, he hit .263 with six home runs and 51 RBIs.

He played for Northwest Arkansas again in 2019 and was named a Texas League All-Star. That year, he hit eight home runs, had 51 RBIs, and stole 53 bases! In 2020, he did not play in any minor league games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, he was added to the Royals' main roster.

Time with the New York Mets

On February 10, 2021, the Royals traded Khalil Lee to the New York Mets. This was part of a big trade involving three teams.

On May 12, 2021, Khalil was called up to the major leagues for the first time! A few days later, he was sent back down to a minor league team. But on May 17, he was called back up again. He made his MLB debut that same day. He came into the game as a replacement and had one turn at bat.

On May 21, during a game against the Miami Marlins, Khalil hit a big double. It was in the 12th inning and gave the Mets the lead. This was his first major league hit and his first RBI! The Mets won that game 6–5.

Khalil started the 2022 season with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. He had a tough start, so he was sent to the High-A St. Lucie Mets for a week to work on his skills. When he returned to Triple-A, he played much better.

On June 8, 2022, he was called back up to the major leagues again. This happened because some other players, like Pete Alonso and Starling Marte, were injured. On June 11, Khalil hit his first career home run against the Los Angeles Angels. This home run was his only hit in the two games he played for the Mets that season. He played 100 games for Syracuse, hitting 10 home runs, 37 RBIs, and stealing 14 bases.

In February 2023, Khalil was removed from the Mets' main roster. He later cleared waivers and was sent back to Triple-A Syracuse. He played 21 games for Syracuse before being released by the Mets in May 2023.

Playing in Independent Leagues

On June 1, 2023, Khalil Lee signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. This team plays in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is an independent league. In 89 games, he hit 15 home runs, had 66 RBIs, and stole 13 bases.

In March 2024, Khalil signed with the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League. A few days later, he was loaned to the Dorados de Chihuahua, another team in the Mexican League. He played three games for the Dorados before being released in April 2024.