When dreaming about the riches an MLB career can offer, Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Hyun Seung Lee understands that great sacrifices are called for.
On Florida’s Gulf Coast, 50 miles south of Tampa, is Pirate City. Just off Route 64, along Roberto Clemente Memorial Way in “The Friendly City” of Bradenton on 27th Street East is where dreams of careers with the National League club are made. Since 1969, aspiring ballplayers whose skills caught a scout’s eye, be it at college, high school, or in organized leagues, have been taking the opportunities afforded to them at the club’s training facility.
In recent years, with increased scouting emphasis outside North American borders, the Pacific Rim countries have become favorites for discovering baseball talent.
South Korea’s Hyun Seung Lee, 18, is among the latest wave of baseball dynamos to cross the North Pacific in search of MLB fame and fortune. After a 20-plus hour flight, 7,500 miles from his homeland’s capital Seoul, Seung Lee began his journey to the world of hits, runs, and errors. Signing with Pittsburgh in January 2025, the 16-year-old was dispatched to the Pirates’ 52-acre Latin American headquarters in El Toro, Dominican Republic. A few miles from the capital of Santo Domingo, Seung Lee attempts to navigate through two languages—English and Spanish—of which he has very little expertise.
To pursue his baseball dreams, Seung Lee passed a high school equivalency exam—right out of middle school—so he was eligible to sign with an MLB club. In South Korea, high school athletes are generally prohibited from signing with an MLB club while enrolled.
As one of the 18 players assigned to the Dominican Pirates Black team for the 54-game schedule in 2025, Seung Lee, then 17, was on his way to being properly trained in the game, and understanding some of the sacrifices to come.
“Off the field, you can’t really leave the complex,” Seung Lee told The Epoch Times through team interpreter Daniel Park on June 10 in Bradenton.
“I stayed in the dorm and played ping pong, pool, and small games with my teammates. This is when I got close to my teammates. The food was different. The people look different. The weather, too. It was tough. Everything was new to me.”
Seung Lee adapted well with his stay in rookie ball. In 45 games, the shortstop scored 32 runs, collected 22 RBIs, stole 17 bases, and earned an impressive .776 OPS.
When spring training 2026 rolled in, Seung Lee was housed at Pirate City with all the other hopeful minor leaguers looking to get noticed by Pittsburgh staff. On March 26, while making the short trip from the training complex to LECOM Park, where the Pirates play out their exhibition schedule opposite other MLB clubs in the Grapefruit League, Seung Lee was in the right place at the right time to be noticed. With the Boston Red Sox in Bradenton, up from their camp in Fort Myers, Pirates’ manager Don Kelly sent Seung Lee into the game, to man third base as an eighth inning replacement.
“I didn’t know I was going to play until the seventh inning,” Seung Lee remembers of his first taste being on an MLB field. “I wasn’t too nervous when I found out that I was going in as a backup. That was my first time playing before a lot of fans, so I tried to take every pitch the best I can.”
Along with the task of playing two innings at baseball’s hot corner, Seung Lee had his first at-bat wearing a Pirates uniform. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the second-year pro drew a walk.
This season, Seung Lee has made measurable progress in his game, and the Pirates have taken notice. Starting out, he was assigned to the rookie-level Pirates’ Florida Coast League club; 15 games in, he had 18 hits, 35 total bases, and hit .321. His offense brought about a promotion to Pittsburgh’s Single-A affiliate in the Florida State League—the Bradenton Marauders. Depending on his progress with the Marauders, Seung Lee could be on the move once again before the season ends in September. Greensboro, North Carolina, is where Pittsburgh’s High-A affiliate is located.
Seung Lee is mindful of his fellow countrymen who paved the way to the MLB, making it possible for him to dream big.
“My dream as a kid was always to play in the big leagues. Other Koreans who have played in the MLB definitely paved the way for me. The performances they showed allowed many teams to continue to be interested in players from Korea. I thank them, and feel blessed.”
Over the years, the Pirates have had several Korean players on their MLB rosters. Ji-hwan Bae (2022–25), Ji-man Choi (2023), and pitcher Chan Ho Park completed his MLB career in 2010 with the club.
On Tuesday, at LECOM Park, Seung Lee reached another personal goal. He slugged his first home run for Bradenton off pitcher Matthew Tippe in a game against the Tampa Tarpons, a New York Yankees affiliate.
Making the 40-man Pirates roster next spring is a motivator for Seung Lee this coming off-season. Keeping his dreams alive once baseball’s season officially closes for the winter doesn’t shut off Seung Lee’s desire to one day be wearing an MLB uniform.
“I usually go back home to South Korea at the end of the season. I spend my off-season training on what I need to improve on and hopefully when I come back for spring training I can move up in the organization.”
The reach of baseball dreams in such cities as Pittsburgh, New York, and Los Angeles continues to get longer—as far as places like South Korea, where young men know scouts are always looking for their next great find.
