Q & A with Steve Wilson.....

Recently, I had the chance to correspond with Cubs Pac-Rim scout - Steve Wilson. Here is a brief Q & A on the two kids that the Cubs recently signed :


TTT:
Could you comment on the two kids that you signed out of Taiwan? - P Hong-Wen Chen & Chih-Hsiang Wen. While HW Chen is more of a known commodity, CH Wen is someone that I had not heard of until his signing.

Steve Wilson:
"1) Chen Hung-Wen: He's the equivalent of a college junior sign in the States. Very polished pitcher, he has the ablility to throw 5 pitches, and has pretty good command of all of them. Pitches comfortably at 89, but will get it up to 91-94 in a closer situation. Has a usable curve, and slider which can be tightened up, but his split can be an out pitch vs. lefties in the big leagues I feel. He can move his fb around, and has a feel for pitching. He's a good athlete, fields his position well, and is tough on the mound.

2) Wen Chih-Hsiang is like a college senior sign. He's a kid that's a bit raw, but has some nice tools and raw power. He's a quiet kid that is a hard worker with good makeup. A kid that I want to give a chance to, and with some work on his hitting which has improved this year you never know. he runs well, plays a nice OF, and like I said, has some pop. Pretty good sized kid for a Taiwanese boy."


Steve also stated that "The Cubs are very committed to not only Taiwan, but the rest of Asia, that is why they hired me. We are going to be an aggressive player in this market, and have started to establish a very good network of part time scouts."

In addition to the two Taiwanese kids signed by Steve, the Cubs have also been busy in South Korea. Per Donga.com(Korean news in English), the Cubs inked South Korean HS'er Dae-Eun Lee on June 4th for $800 K.

A big thank you to Steve for partaking in the Q&A.