Cubs Sign Yao-Lin Wang.....

San-Hsin senior RHP Yao-Lin Wang becomes the first signing in '09 of an amateur player by a ML club. The Cubs inked Wang to a ~ $260 K signing bonus. The 18 year old (DOB: 2/5/91), who stands 5'11" and weighs 172 pounds has already passed his physical. He has been selected to this year's junior NT.

Wang is one of the hardest throwing HS pitchers on the island (clocked in the low 90's) and has represented the country in the past ('06 on the World Boys Baseball Tournament NT - that included teammate Wei-Da Su).

YLW's Album




OTHER HS PLAYER NOTES:
*Word is that INF Ping-Chieh Chen has turned down a $300 K offer from the Cubs. The reason? He reportedly received pressure from his future college coach Hua-Wei Lin (forcing him not to sign).

*RHP Ming-Chie Lin will be attending Chinese Culture University and currently has no interest in playing pro baseball overseas.

Amateur Player News...

CPBL:
May MVP's (stats from May):

Hitting: Yi-Chuan Lin (Bulls) .415 BA / 94 AB / 39 H / 5 HR / 23 RBI
Pitching: Aaron Rakers (Bears) 2 W - 1 L / 35.1 IP / 2.29 ERA / 22 K's / 7 BB's


Standings:

Team	W	D	L	GB	WP
Bears	25	1	17	--	0.595
Lions	23	2	19	2	0.548
Bulls	22	2	20	3	0.524
Elephants	15	1	29	11	0.341

Other:
*Agent Chien-Chen Chen's client RHP Yao-Lin Wang is getting interest from multiple teams including the Cubs and Twins.

*Bros client RHP Chun-Chen Chiang had a workout in front of scouts last week; he topped out at 91 and showed a feel for the changeup.

*Octagon clients: INF Fu-Lin Kuo reportedly recevied an offer of $30 K from the Twins, while INF Wei-Da Su was offered $20 K from the same team.

*RHP Ming-Chieh Lin has only topped out 86 mph in the tourney.

*The Elite Eight:

The final eight teams standing in the Yu-Shan Cup are striving not only to win the tourney, but also to represent the country in the junior "AAA" Asian championships to be held later this summer (August) in South Korea. The winning team will form the backbone of the NT roster.

Yu-Shan Cup Stats (Top 5):
BA:
1)Tsung-Hua Chan (Taichung County) .818
2)Yu-Te He (Ho) (Yilan County) .800
3)Ting-Lun Chang (Kaohsiung City) .750
4)Chia-Ching Lin (Taichung City) .750
5)Kuo-Lin Lo (Kaoshiung County) .667

HR:
1)Tien-Wei Wang (Taipei City) 1

RBI:
1)Shao-Ming Ke (Ko) (Taoyuan County) 5
2)Chih-Tang Pan (Taoyuan County) 5
3)Wei-Chieh Chou (Taoyuan County) 4
4)Ting-Lun Chang (Kaohsiung City) 4
5)Pei-Hua Hu (Taitung County)

Hits:
1)Tsung-Hua Chan (Taichung County) 9
2)Yu-Fan Tsai (Chiayi City) 7
3)Pei-Hua Hu (Taitung County) 7
4)Sheng-En Yang (Chiayi City) 7
5)Ting-Lun Chang (Kaohsiung City) 6

SB:
1)Hung-Wei Shih (Kaohsiung City) 4
2)Pei-Lun Yang (Taichung City) 3
3)Wen-Chih Tseng (Yilan County) 3
4)Chia-Ching Lin (Taichung City) 2
5)Chun-Hao Wu (Taipei City) 2

OBP:
1)Yu-Te He (Ho) (Yilan County) .875
2)Chia-Ching Lin (Taichung City) .833
3)Tsung-Hua Chan (Taichung County) .818
4)Ting-Lun Chang (Kaohsiung City) .800
5)Wen-Chih Tseng (Yilan County) .750

Wins:
1)Kao-Chen Chu (Taitung County) 1
2)Sheng-Nan Chen (Kaohsiung County) 1
3)Hsiang-Ying Wang (Taitung County) 1
4)Yao-Lin Wang (Kaohsiung City) 1
5)Meng-Chen Fan (Taichung City) 1

ERA:
1)Sheng-Nan Chen (Kaohsiung County) 0.00
2)Yao-Lin Wang (Kaohsiung City) 0.00
3)Chi-Hao Lin (Kaohsiung City) 0.00
4)Meng-Chen Fan (Taichung City) 0.00
5)Chia-Wei Huang (Taitung County) 0.00

K's:
1)Sheng-Nan Chen (Kaohsiung County) 13
2)Yao-Lin Wang (Kaohsiung City) 11
3)Hsiang-Ying Wang (Taitung County) 8
4)Chi-Hao Lin (Kaohsiung City) 8
5)Kuan-Ju Chen (Chiayi County) 8

IP:
1)Kao-Chen Chu (Taitung County) 13.2
2)Sheng-Nan Chen (Kaohsiung County) 9.2
3)Shi-Ying Peng (Taoyuan County) 9
4)Yao-Lin Wang (Kaohsiung City) 9
5)Hsiang-Ying Wang (Taitung County) 9

Saves:
1)Kao-Chen Chu (Taitung County) 1
2)Kuan-Hsun Chen (Chiayi City) 1
3)Cheng-Ting Ke (Ko) (Hsinchu County) 1
4)Che-Min Hsu (Yilan County) 1
5)Yu-Te He (Ho) (Yilan County) 1





MILB:
*YW Kuo - looking good in BP

*CH Cheng 411: "Cheng doesn’t have the velocity to challenge hitters up in the zone, and Hillcats pitching coach Wally Whitehurst has repeatedly stressed that Cheng — and every Hillcat pitcher — attack the lower half of the zone.

“He’s got to understand who he is, and not what he thinks he is,” Whitehurst said. “Everybody likes to throw hard. Some people can and some people can’t. For the most part, he stays within himself and throws the ball down in the strike zone, and he produces a lot of weak swings. He needs to understand that and see that.”

Cheng hasn’t allowed a run in his last two starts. His future in the rotation is uncertain — LHP Bryan Morris continues his rehab in Florida and should be back with the Hillcats soon, and the Pirates’ brass will likely want to see what Morris, a former first-round draft pick, can do in the rotation.

*Indians C Chun-Hsiu Chen has hit 8 HR's so far in XST and is batting around .300


Scores:
AAA - CL Hu 1-4, 2B

AA - HW Chen L 2-5, 3 IP, 8 R - 7 ER, 11 H, 3 K's, 0 BB - 1 HR allowed

A+ - CH Chiang 1-3, 2 RBI, E #3 / CH Lin 0-4, BB

A+ - CC Lee 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 K's, 0 BB's

A+ - KH Lo 0-3, BB




MLB:
HC Kuo Update

Movin' On Up!

A preseason top 10 of the current crop of HS seniors was posted before (1-5, 6-10). Based on performance so far in the wood bat tourney:

***

MC Lin

The new #1 prospect is--Chung-Dao RHP Ming-Chie Lin-- he has good size, a projectable build, has significantly improved his delivery & velocity, he's a 2-way player (he's held his own at the plate - decent hitter and catcher), the key for him would be to improve his velocity & develop an average breaking pitch.

***

HH Pan (R)

The biggest surprise so far--Chung-Dao INF Hong-Hsiang Pan--a 5'9'' switch hitter with above average speed, soft hands defensively with average range - gets rid off the ball quickly, has quick & strong wrists.

***

CD Chang

The #1 incoming prospect (equivalent of a US HS sophomore)--Gao-Nong INF Chin-De Chang--has excellent bat speed, a decent stroke from the left-side with power, has a strong throwing arm, is an average runner, but body is thick and filled out on his 5'10'' frame, lacks a defensive position, not very good at 3B. Gao-Nong is fortunate to have him, as the kid almost ended up in Japan.

Tuesday Updates...*Updated

*HS Wood Bat Tourney:

Scouting MC Lin

-Chung-Dao HS won 9-2 over Da-Tung HS in 8 innings. RHP Ming-Chie Lin started and earned the win for CDHS. Lin allowed 1 ER on 2 hits over 5.1 IP to go along with 9 K's and 0 BB's. Teammate Yu-Te He played in RF and was 2-4 with a RBI at the plate. MC Lin was clocked at 90 mph and had very good movement on his fastball.*Updated

-Qiang-Shu HS defeated Cheng-Kung HS 9-1. Ching-Hung Lee earned the W for QSHS, giving up 1 run on 4 hits over 5 IP (9 K's, 1 BB). Teammate 2B-CF Tian-Wei Wang was 4-5 with a triple and 2 RBI.

-Hsin-He HS won a 5 inning contest 10-0.

-Hualien PE HS won 3-2 over Taitung JC. RHP Chung-Cheng Chiang threw a CG, picking up his first win of the tourney. Chiang allowed 2 runs (1 ER) on 8 hits to go along with 14 K's and 3 BB's.

-Ping-Tung HS won 3-1 over Dong-Shi HS.

-Tainan Marine Vocational HS won 7-6 over Taitung Specialized HS.

-Mei-Ho HS defeated Chiayi HS 6-5. Wen-Hao Cheng pitched in relief of the MHHS starter and picked up the W. Cheng allowed 2 unearned runs on 3 hits over 4.1 IP (4 K's, 1 BB). He was 0-4 at the plate.

-Taoyuan Agricultural HS won 2-1 over Yang-Ming HS.

-From 12/1 game action: RHP Po-Chen Chi topped out at 90 mph, while Ping-Zhen HS RHP Hao-Chun Chiu topped out at 90 mph. Righty Cheng-Hao Wang topped out at 92 mph. Although he has yet to pitch, San-Hsin ace Chia-Ming Huang is also receiving a lot of attention.

*CPBL
-The league is trying to get Chin-Hui Tsao into the special draft.
-The Chinese Baseball Association still won't allow former CPBL players to play in the league.

*NPB
-RHP En-Yu Lin of the Rakuten Eagles also received a pay cut. He'll make 15 million yen ($161 K USD) next year (20 million in 2008).
-The Chiba Lotte Marines released Si-Yo Wu.

HS Class of '09 Top 10 Revisited....

Ok, the HS preseason top 5 was posted a while back. This is a bit late, but I'll list the rest of the preseason top 10:

#6)

RHP Ming-Chie Lin (Chung-Dao HS) DOB: 3/18/91 H: 6'3" W: 195 lbs

#7)

RHP Po-Cheng Chi (Shi-Yuan HS) DOB: 10/31/90 H: 6'1" W: 165 lbs

#8)

RHP Wen-Hao Cheng (Mei-Ho HS) DOB: 12/13/90 H: 5'9" W: 190 lbs

#9)

IF Wei-Chen Wang (Ku-Pao HS) DOB: 7/3/91 H: 6'0" W: 157 lbs

#10)

RHP Yu-Te He (Chung-Dao HS) DOB: 9/21/91 H: 6'0" W: 185 lbs

This list is subject to change as the performances of the kids fluctuate.
*Updated with pics

News and Updates - UPDATED***

*After a break-out year in the NPB, Chunichi Dragons LHP Wei-Yin Chen is receiving a huge increase (nearly 6X) in his salary. He made 6 million yen last year and will now receive 35 million yen (~ $366 K USD) in 2009.

*Reviving a rivalry from nearly a decade ago, the Taiwan-South Korea University Baseball Invitational kicked off. The Taiwan Sports University (also known as NCPES/NTUPES) sent two teams representing its Taichung and Taoyuan campuses. Former Blue Jay farmhand, Chi-Hung Cheng pitched for the TSU-Taichung team and threw 5 innings, allowing only 3 hits, K'ing 4, and gave up 1 run. He topped out at 86 mph. After he left the game, the South Korean school would rally for 4 runs to end the game in a 4-4 tie. Also playing in the game for TSU were C Chun-Hsiu Chen (Indians) - he had 2 hits and 2 RBI, OF Chao-Ting Tang (Tigers) - he had a hit, and RHP Hsin-Hong Tsai (almost a Cubbie) - allowed a hit.

TSU-Taoyuan won its game 13-3 in 7 innings.*Updated

*Ming-Chie Lin, a top 10 HS class of '09 player, continues to attract a lot of attention . UDN has reported that the Yankees, Red Sox, and Twins have been scouting Lin.

*MC Lin's teammate, P Yu-Te He has also attracted the attention of ML scouts (news reports cite the presence of the Twins scout at the game). He threw 8 innings against Ku-Pao on the 23rd. In that game, Ku-Pao's Wei-Chen Wang continued his hot hitting streak - he had 3 more hits, including 2 triples as Ku-Pao won 7-3.

*Former T-Rex/Cobras slugger Chia-Hsien Hsieh has volunteered on his own to participate in the WBC training session taking place 12/1 to 12/7. Also contrary to what was reported earlier, Red Sox farmhands Che-Hsuan Lin, Chih-Hsien Chiang, and Wang-Yi Lin will not be participating in the training session. Taking their places are Chia-Chu Chen (Red Sox), Chia-Jen Lo (Astros), and 22 year old (DOB: 3/19/86) C Cheng-Da Wu, who played HS and collegiate baseball (Suzuka International Unversity) in Japan. Next year, he will be playing for the Kishu Rangers of the Kansai Independent League - the same league that made news when it selected a 16 year old girl.

***NEW UPDATES

*Per their agent, former Blue Jays farmhands CH Cheng and PH Keng want to play overseas and are unlikely to consider playing in the CPBL next year.

*Gui-Shan elementary school won the little league division of the aboriginal tourney.

*Ku-Pao HS defeated Chung-Dao HS in the championship game of the senior level of the aboriginal tourney behind C Kuan-Ru Chen's 2 hits and home run and LHP Kuan-Yu Chen's 11 K's in 7 innings of work.

*Hsin-Shen junior HS won the youth division of the aboriginal tourney behind RHP Chia-Wei Yang, a kid with some upside (6'0" tall).*Updated

*Regarding the WBC and the NPB, the Hanshin Tigers are willing to allow OF Wei-Chu Lin to participate in the WBC. The Rakuten Eagles will also allow RHP En-Yu Lin to play in March.

*Some potential good news for the CPBL - the Taichung city government is considering getting its own pro baseball team.

*Two KBO and two CPBL teams will be training in Taiwan in February of next year.

*Much like Tiger Woods and GM, E Sun Bank is unlikely to continue its sponsorship/ad deal with Chien-Ming Wang because of the sad state of the economy.

Tung-Kao Cup Notes...

Amateur: Tung-Kao Cup
RHP Wen-Hao Cheng of Mei-Ho HS was clocked at 93 mph.

Chung-Tao HS of Yilan County, led by the strong pitching perfomances of C/RHP Ming-Chie Lin (6'3'', 195 lbs - reached a personal high of 89 mph) and OF/RHP Yu-Te He (6'0'', 185 lbs - clocked at 90 mph) will face off against San-Hsin HS of Kaohsiung City, which got strong performances from RHP Tzu-An Wang (6'5'', 190 lbs - threw 5 plus innings of 3 hit ball to beat powerhouse Ku-Pao HS of Taipei County) and RHP/1B Chia-Ming Huang (6'3'', 190 lbs) in the championship game of the tournament.

Cheng-Kung HS (in Taitung county) RHP Shen-Chie Huang (5'9'', 175 lbs) who is a 4th year HS SR, was clocked at 92 mph.

Representatives from the Yankees, Red Sox, Reds, Phillies, Braves, Twins, Royals, Cubs, and Angels were present at the tournament.



NPB:
CS Yang was 0-3 as the Fighters lost 4-1. Box

WY Chen threw another gem and picked up win #7 as he blanked the Giants over 8 innings (5 H, 7 K's). The Dragons won 1-0. Box



MLB:
More on Kuo and Hu - we won't see them in the NLDS.



Other:
RHP Chia-Jen Lo had a bullpen workout with the Angels in Taiwan last week - he topped out at 92 mph.
*UPDATED

Ming-Chie Lin Followup....

MC Lin

Here's a followup to a previous post on '09 HS top 10 prospect MC Lin. The Kansas City Royals scout was rumored to have been at the Chung-Dao vs. Taoyuan Agricultural HS game in which RHP Ming-Chie Lin threw a CG shutout. (Sources have confirmed that the Twins scout was in fact the one who was at Lin's CG shutout)*Updated/Edited


CPBL:
Lions 10 - Elephants 6:
WP - Lou Pote (13-4, 7 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 3 K's, 1 BB)

LP - TJ Yeh (0-1, 7 IP, 7 R, 3 H, 2 K's, 9 BB's)

Lions lineup:
CF Kan-Lin Huang 0-2, RBI
LF Chun-Yu Kuo 1-4, HR #1 (first professional hit and first career HR), 3 RBI's - game MVP
DH Lien-Hung Chen 1-3, 2B
3B Tilson Brito 0-3
1B KC Kao 2-3
RF Fu-Hao Liu 0-2, RBI
C Chih-Kang Kao 1-4, 2B, RBI
SS Po-Chao Yang 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI's

Elephants lineup:
RF Ming-Hsien Lin 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI's
LF CYC 0-4, RBI
DH Kuan-Jen Chen 3-4, RBI
C Jui-Chang Chen 2-3, 2B, RBI
CF Cheng-Wei Huang 1-4, RBI


Bulls 3 - Bears 2:
WP - Jose Espinal (5-5, 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K, 2 BB's)
SP Wen-Ping Yu earned a ND (6 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 K, 4 BB's)

LP - Ying-Feng Tsai (1-4, 0 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 K's/BB's)
SP Yu-Wei Hsu earned a ND (7 IP, 2 R, 9 H, 5 K's, 2 BB's)

Bulls lineup:
LF-RF Hsien-Ming Yu 2-4
SS Chao-Hsing Cheng 2-5, RBI
DH Tarzan 2-4
1B Kuo-Long Hsu 4-5, 2B - game MVP
CF Hua-Wei Tseng 0-2, 2 RBI's

Bears lineup:
RF Chien-Wei Tsai 2-3
SS Chih-Sheng Lin 2-4, HR #10, RBI (double digit HR's - 5 consecutive seasons/chronologically 11, 16, 12, 16, and now 10)
1B Gary Burnham 1-4, RBI


MLB:
Nice read on HC Kuo - the Comeback Kid
*Updated

News Tidbit......

Scouts from several ML organizations: the Royals, Twins, Yankees, and Red Sox have been scouting players at a local tournament in Yilang County. Their likely target is C/1B/RHP Ming-Chie Lin of Chung-Dao HS. I'll have a post on Lin at a later date, as he falls in the #6-10 range of the HS class of '09 prospects list (See #'s 1-5 here).

Kai-Wen Cheng/Royals Update....

Here's an update to an earlier post on scouting in Taiwan (Samuel Fu is no longer with the White Sox, Allen Lin has signed Chao-Ting Tang, and Ken Su is the Yankees local scout). The Kansas City Royals' main man in Taiwan is Adam Hislop.
The Royals scout was rumored to have met with RHP Kai-Wen Cheng this past week. Cheng, along with Chia-Jen Lo are two of the bigger named unsigned amateur players in Taiwan. It's no coincidence that these 2 kids (along with RHP CC Lee) are the only amateur players on the Olympic national team. Cheng, who reportedly turned down a $30K offer from the Twins, is supposedly seeking $300K.

MC Lin

Chung-Dao HS senior to be- Ming-Chie Lin was also rumored to have been on Hislop's radar recently. Lin, who has good size - standing in at 6'2", throws in the low 80's but has a poor delivery.
It will be interesting to see if the Royals' history of financial constraints will hinder its abilities to sign kids in Taiwan. None the less, you gotta give the Royals some credit for stepping up their international presence in Asia.