Twins Sign RHP Hung-Yi Chen

The Twins inked their second signee from Taiwan (OF Wang-Wei Lin was the first):  Shi-Yuan HS RHP Hung-Yi Chen. The 2010 junior NT member is a HS teammate of recent Indians signee Chia-Ching Lin. He was the 2010 Yu-Shan Cup MVP.

Chen stands ~ 5'10" and weighs ~ 190 lbs. The 17 year old (9/25/92) righty tops out at 90 mph and throws a fastball/sinker/slider/forkball mix. He has a good delivery and is physically mature for his age.

His signing bonus is rumored to be in the ~$100 K range (comprehensive).

Indians Sign OF Chia-Ching Lin.....

The Cleveland Indians signed Shi-Yuan OF Chia-Ching Lin.   The 2010 junior NT member received ~ $150 K + additional money for tuition.   (Vitals)
Lin is represented by Shi-Yuan coach Peng-Po Lee.
Here's the kid's wiki page in Chinese (with pic).



*Taichung City won the Sadaharu Oh Cup and will represent Taiwan in the Palomino Division of the PWS.
The kids are from Shi-Yuan and Gao-Nong HS.  Roster (in Chinese)


*The Pirates signed IF Yung-Chi Chen.


*Hung-Wen Chen was named pitcher of the week (14th-20th) in the Southern League.

Congrats to Chen!

Chun-Hsiu Chen was 1-2 in the MWL All-Star game, throwing out a would-be base stealer. 

The young Indians slugger was recently named to the 2010 All-Star Futures Game International roster. 

News Briefs....

*News regarding Chun-Hsiu Chen at the MWL All-Star break.

WD Su

*Former heralded baseball players, Rong-Hao Hsieh (Jung-Hao Hsieh) and Wei-Da Su (Wei-Ta Su)  - represented by Octagon, are now playing for the Anchorage Bucs in the ABL.  


*Hu joins Kuo in LA.

Cheng-Han Tsai News..

*Nan-Ying HS P Cheng-Han Tsai has signed an agent contract with Octagon.  Tsai is a 6'2", 190 lb righty.   He has a fastball that sits 84-86 (flashed an 88 mph fb in the national HS tourney in December of '09), throws a slow curveball and mixes in a changeup.   He has good size and command but has slow arm action.   A couple of teams seemed to have some interest in him (in the $50 to $100 K range).   The kid will represent the country in Canada later this summer on the junior NT.

*The senior NT preliminary roster has been trimmed down to 30. Check this previous post for the 411. Players demarcated in blue are on the 30 man NT roster.




*A couple of amateur tourney updates:

-The Sadaharu Oh Cup (HS tourney) is going on right now.

-In the recently completed Golden Dragon Cup (for Little League aged kids), Tainan Municipal Chongsyue Elementary School won the championship.  Famous school alumni include Chien-Ming Wang and Chin-Lung Hu.   For the winning team, Chin Cheng (RHP/OF) led the tourney with a .705 BA while teammate Chi-Jung Liu (RHP/IF) was the tourney MVP.

-Taipei City (from Chongcing Junior HS) won the recently completed Association Cup.   The team will represent Taiwan in the Pony Division of the PWS at the Asia-Pacific Regionals.   Reppin' Taipei City, RHP Wei-Cheng Liao earned the top pitcher award 1 W, 0.00 ERA).  Teammate Che-Wei Lin was the tourney MVP.

Tsao Update...

*Former ML pitcher Chin-Hui Tsao has been spotted in the US.   He's been working out in the presence of a few ML clubs.  Currently banned from the CPBL for his role in fixing games (see this PDF file from the Taipei - Banchiao court statement regarding Tsao's involvement in the scandal - in Chinese), Tsao was earlier rumored to be seeking employment in Mexico.   That rumor was refuted by his reps.



*We've got 2 All-Star reps in the minor leagues this year: 1)C/DH Chun-Hsiu Chen is a MWL All-Star    2)RHP Sheng-An Kuo was selected to the SAL All-Star roster

This year's Futures All-Star game roster as usual, will be selected by Baseball America.  Make your voice heard and contact the publication to get Chun-Hsiu Chen on the international roster.



*There's some bad news regarding injured players:  Braves RHP Wei-Chen Huang had elbow surgery.
Taiwan PE College RHP Min-Tzu Chen has an ulnar collateral ligament tear.



*NPB:  Chih-Lung Huang may start on the 9th for the Giants.

The 2010 Junior NT.....

Here are the young men heading to Canada later this summer:
* - denotes lefty
(see previous post for Taichung City & Linked player vitals)

Pitchers:
1)Chun-Lin Kuo (Taichung City) - 2010 Yu-Shan Cup All-Star (P)
2)Hung-Yi Chen (Taichung City)
3)Wei-Chung Wang (Kaohsiung County)*
4)Shi-Ying Peng (Taoyuan County)* - (17)7/2/92 - 175 cm/68 kg
5)Ping-Hsueh Chen (Taipei County - Banchiao) - (15)7/8/94 - 183 cm/84 kg - '09 Youth NT
6)Cheng-Han Tsai (Tainan City) - (18)3/13/92 - 188 cm/80 kg - '04 LL NT/'08 Youth NT/'09 Junior NT
7)Kuo-Hua Lo (Kaohsiung City)
8)Chia-Wei Huang (Taitung County) - (18)4/9/92 - 183 cm/80 kg

Catchers:
1)Ting-Yen Lin (Taichung City)
2)Chun-Wei Kuo (Kaohsiung County) - (17)7/18/92 - 175 cm/70 kg - 2010 Yu-Shan Cup All-Star (C)

Infielders:
1)Yao-Chieh Pan (Taichung City) - 2010 Yu-Shan Cup All-Star (1B)
2)Chun-Kai Liao (Taichung City) - 2010 Yu-Shan Cup All-Star (3B)
3)Ching-Fu Lin (Taichung City)
4)Che-Wei Lin (Kaohsiung County)* - (16)2/15/94 - 172 cm/65 kg - '09 Youth NT - Top BA (.466) in Yu-Shan Cup
5)Chi-Hsien Lin (Kaohsiung County) - (17)6/23/92 - 176 cm/75 kg - 2010 Yu-Shan Cup All-Star (SS)
6)Hung-Sheng Yang (Taipei County - Banchiao) - (16)9/19/93 - 173 cm/81 kg 

Outfielders:
1)Chia-Ching Lin (Taichung City)
2)Yao-Tsung Ou (Taichung City) - 2010 Yu-Shan Cup All-Star (OF)
3)Tse-Wei Ko (Taoyuan County)* - (17)9/26/92 - 170 cm/63 kg -  2010 Yu-Shan Cup All-Star (OF)
4)Chi-Yu Tsai (Chiayi County) - (18)2/21/92 - 177 cm/65 kg - younger brother of Hsin-Hong Tsai

Taichung City Wins Yu-Shan Cup....

Taichung City defeated Kaohsiung County 5-2 in the championship game of the Yu-Shan Cup.   The team will form the backbone for the junior NT that will represent the country at the 2010 World Junior Championships.  
The team roster is composed primarily of players from Shi-Yuan HS and Gao-Nong HS, headlined by young slugger Chin-De Chang (cleanup hitter, was 2-3 with an RBI in the championship game).   Tourney MVP Hung-Yi Chen started and won the championship game (6 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 3 H, 0 K's, 4 BB's).  
Taoyuan County defeated Taipei County - Banchiao 6-2 in the 3rd place game.

Taichung City Team Roster:* denotes lefty
1)RHP Che-Wei Kao  195 cm/90 kg  16 (Gao-Nong)
2)RHP Chih-Wei Hu  184 cm/85 kg  16 (Shi-Yuan)  - '09 Youth NT/'09 Pony League WS
3)OF Yao-Chieh Pan 180 cm/78 kg  17 (Gao-Nong)
4)IF Ching-Fu Lin 172 cm/74 kg  17 (Shi-Yuan) - '08 Youth NT
5)IF Chin-De Chang 180 cm/88 kg 17 (Gao-Nong)* - '06 Little League NT
6)IF Chun-Kai Liao 176 cm/76 kg  18 (Shi-Yuan) - '08 Youth NT
7)RHP Chun-Han Lin 175 cm/75 kg  17 (Gao-Nong)
8)OF Yao-Tsung Ou  177 cm/70 kg  18 (Gao-Nong)
9)IF Kun-Yu Wen 178 cm/85 kg  17 (Shi-Yuan)* - '09 Youth NT
10)IF Nian-Che Chang-Liao 173 cm/70 kg  18  (Shi-Yuan) - '05 Pony League WS/ '08 Youth NT
11)OF Meng-Chieh Kan  172 cm/80 kg  17  (Shi-Yuan) - '05 Little League Rep/'07 Pony League WS/'08 Youth NT
12)C Ting-Yen Lin  173 cm/75 kg  17  (Shi-Yuan) - '05 Little League Rep/'07 Pony League WS/
13)OF Yu-Chien Lin  176 cm/72 kg  18 (Shi-Yuan)* - '05 Pony League WS/'08 Youth NT
14)RHP Chun-Lin Kuo  175 cm/72 kg   18 (Shi-Yuan) - '08 Youth NT
15)OF Chia-Ching Lin  180 cm/78 kg   18  (Shi-Yuan)* - '05 Pony League WS
16)RHP Ho-An Hsu  180 cm/75 kg  17  (Shi-Yuan)
17)RHP Hung-Yi Chen  180 cm/78 kg  17  (Shi-Yuan)
18)RHP Wei-Ti Weng  182 cm/85 kg  18  (Shi-Yuan) - '08 Youth NT



*MILB:Former Indians farmhand Sung-Wei Tseng has signed with the LA Dodgers.  Tseng was playing earlier this year in the Golden Baseball League and was released prior to to signing with the Dodgers.   He's currently in XST with the Dodgers.



*NPB:LHP Yao-Hsun Yang hit 96 mph on the gun in his last outing.   He hit 94 mph in his appearance today.
The Hanshin Tigers are calling up OF Wei-Chu Lin to the parent club.

Prospect Update: Wei-Chung Wang

Kaohsiung county LHP Wei-Chung Wang is attracting interest from MLB teams.  The 6'1", 170 pound youngster has a smooth delivery with a clean arm action.   Although his arm speed is just average, he is very projectable. Earlier this year, his fastball was in the low 80's but he has hit 88 mph quite a few times in the current Yu-Shan Cup; he has also flashed an above average changeup that he throws for a strike. Rumor has it that he is represented by Jerry Sung, and his asking price is $300,000. Octagon may be pursuing him too.

The 18 year old (4/25/92) is the younger brother of Cubs signee Yao-Lin Wang.




(Wang's #'s from his last outing 6/1/10: ND, 9 IP, 1 R, 9 H, 7 K's, 1 BB)

A's Release Chen.....

*The Oakland A's released IF Yung-Chi Chen.   The once-promising career of Chen was stalled by injuries.

*The Yomiuri Giants called up RHP Chih-Lung Huang to the parent club.  RHP Yi-Hao Lin is also under consideration for a call up to the parent club.

*The MeiFu Giants won the Spring Collegiate Tourney over Taiwan Beer after winning 4-0 on the 1st of June.
-Pai-Hung Wu led the tourney with a .472 BA
-Chih-Pei Huang led the tourney with 2 HR and 20 RBI
-Kuan-Yu Chen led all pitchers with a 0.00 ERA

*Over in the Yu-Shan Cup, Kaohsiung City's star RHP Kuo-Hua Lo got knocked around  in the team's 5-3 loss on Wednesday.   He allowed 5 runs on 11 hits over 8 IP (6 K's, 1 BB).