CHANG - (14 y.o. in August of '05)pics courtesy of ponyworldseries.com
As mentioned by Mariner Minors and Baseball America, the Seattle Mariners signed 17 year old RHP Yao-Wen Chang (DOB: 10/31/1990). Chang joins Yi-Hao Lin (Yomiuri Giants) as the second signee from the talented class of 2009. The young man stands around 6'3" and weighs ~ 190 pounds. Chang first gained notoriety when he helped lead Taichung, Taiwan to the 2005 Pony League World Series Championship (see pics above). The righty reportedly has a fastball in the low 90's. The rest of his pitching repertoire includes a changeup, curve, slider, and a splitter. Chang's transition to the US may be smoother than most Taiwanese players as he already has a pretty solid grasp of the English language.
His signing bonus with the Mariners is reported to be ~ $400,000, the highest bonus given to a Taiwanese pitcher since Chien-Ming Chiang (~$600 K with the Yomiuri Giants in 2005) and Chia-An Huang (~$700 K with the Seattle Mariners in 2004).
*Edited/Updated*
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