With the minor league regular season over, let's take a look at how the kids fared in 2006.
POSITIONAL PLAYERS
The Good
1)Yung-Chi Chen: Had a standout season among the positional players in the US minors. His potential was recognized by MLB when he was named to the 2006 Futures All-Star Game. The 23 year old started the year in A+ ball (where he was recognized as an All-Star) and finished the season in AA. Playing solid defense, Chen only committed 8 errors at 2B all season. Chen's plate discipline, base running instincts, and run production all contributed to a solid 2006 campaign.
Chen's cumulative stats for 2006: (Compare to Chen's stats from the last 2 years)
.324 BA 438 AB's 8 HR's 72 RBI's 41 BB/63 K's 26 SB's
Chen will probably start next season at AA again, but if he performs well, deserves a shot at the next level - AAA.
2)Chih-Hsien Chiang: Mentioned already in a previous post, had a standout first year in the pros - jumping from rookie ball to short-season A ball by the end of the year. The 18 year old's upside is tremendous - but then again, we already knew that.
Chiang's cumulative stats for 2006:
.285 BA 158 AB's 2 HR's 20 RBI's 6 BB/20 K's 3 SB's
The assumption here is that Chiang will begin next season in A ball with Greenville.
3)Ching-Lung Hu: Defensive Whiz who played the entire year in AA at Jacksonville. While flashing a tremendous glove - leading the Southern League in fielding percentage at SS, Hu struggled at the plate in 2006 - hitting only .254. Hu's cumulative stats for 2006:(Compare to Hu's stats from the previous few seasons)
.254 BA 488 AB's 5 HR's 34 RBI's 49 BB/63 K's 11 SB's
Despite his offensive woes, Hu was named to the 2006 Futures All-Star Game roster along with Chen and was also a Southern League All-Star. The 22 year old could probably use another year at AA to hone his batting skills.
The ?????
1)Kuo-Hui Lo: Already profiled in an earlier post. After a promising start at Everett, Lo struggled in Wisconsin. The potential is there, but he must improve his plate discipline and cut down on his K's. The 20 year old will probably start the year in A-ball in 2007.
Lo's cumulative stats for 2006:
.255 BA 165 AB's 3 HR's 17 RBI's 14 BB/43 K's 24 SB's
The Ugly
1)Chao-Kuan Wu: After starting the year with Wisconsin, Wu struggled and was demoted to Everett where he didn't fare much better. Although the 22 year old is still young, his prospect status is getting dimmer by the minute. Playing mostly as a catcher, Wu did not see much consistent playing time this year - his anemic bat - .217 BA and 0 HR's in 166 AB's, certainly didn't help his cause.
Wu's cumulative stats for 2006:(Compare to Wu's stats from previous seasons)
.217 BA 166 AB's 0 HR's 14 RBI's 14 BB/32 K's 1 SB
A star in the 2002 World Junior Championships, Wu has been a big bust so far in his pro career - Expect another season in Everett/Wisconsin.
2)Chih-Hsiang Huang: The 18 year old struggled in his first season overseas. Despite his struggles, Huang is a good athlete with plus tools. With that said, Huang was unable to capitalize on his raw potential and his numbers from his first season reflect that. Huang managed to hit only .125 at the rookie level GCL, while K'ing at an alarming rate of once in every 3 AB's.
Huang's cumulative stats for 2006:
.125 BA 72 AB's 1 HR 5 RBI's 6 BB/22 K's 0 SB's
Huang will probably repeat another year in the GCL next season.
2 comments:
What are the years that Hu and Chen Yung Chi are projected to be in the majors if they both have decent/above average seasons next year?
Other than those two, are there any taiwanese ballers who have a chance to jump to the big leagues soon?
Also btw, why is Chiang Chien Ming playing in Japan and not the U.S.? Can you try to get us more info on Chiang? i googled him and found absolutely no results.
Chen and Hu are the two kids who have the best shot at making it to the ML's. With that said the ETA for both guys is kinda up in the air. For Hu, Furcal and Lugo stand in his way.
Chen is a little more versatile, but his best everyday defensive position is 2B. Jose Lopez is the same age as Chen (actually a few months younger) and is entrenched at 2B for the Mariners. If Chen can continue to stroke the ball, I don't see why the Mariners wouldn't give him a shot to be a utility IF on the parent club.
As for Chiang, he has Sung-Wei Tseng syndrome - talented but physically non-imposing. Chiang only stands 5'9 and unless you're Tom Gordon or Billy Wagner, ML scouts usually pass since they see tons of guys with Chiang's talent. As for Tseng, the Indians were the only ML team to offer a contract. I'm not too sure about Chiang, but I believe he had a preference to play in Japan.
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