Making It Official...

MLB:
Chia-Chu Chen's signing with the Red Sox was officially announced. Check out pics (seen with Craig Shipley) from his big day:
With Chen's signing, the Red Sox now have 5 players from Taiwan in their farm system. The Mariners are close behind with 4 players (if you count Chia-An Huang).


WC (Lins to the Rescue):

EY LIN

CS LIN

The Italian NT gave the NT all it could handle before Chih-Sheng Lin's late inning heroics gave Taiwan a 1-0 win on Monday. Former CPBL'er (ex-La New Bear) Anthony Fiore shut down the NT offense over 7 innings. Fortunately for Taiwan, En-Yu Lin was just as dominant as he threw a CG 4-hit shutout to go along with 13 K's and no walks allowed. Box/Recap/V.O.D.
With the win, Taiwan is tied with the US for first place in Group A. Taiwan will play Panama tomorrow.


AFL:
YC Chen is currently 0-2 with a walk and has committed 2 errors as his team is up 4-0 in the 7th inning. Box/Game Log



Other:
CL Hu is back in Taiwan practicing with the NT in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers.


CPBL:
This is for you Cor. Your boy Sheng-Wei Wang is a Brother Elephant. The former amateur SS played on several NT's and participated in the 2005 ABL alongside Indians farmhand Sung-Wei Tseng.

Breaking News - Red Sox Sign Chia-Chu Chen!!!

The Boston Red Sox inked 18 year old catcher Chia-Chu Chen (DOB: 4/7/1989), who was arguably the top hitting prospect on the 2007 junior NT. I had an opportunity to watch Chen earlier this summer. The 5'10", 160 pounder makes good contact with the bat and calls a pretty good game from behind the plate. He is an excellent defensive catcher. Here's a brief vid of Chen at the plate - also if you check the 4 vids that I posted of CH Lin vs. RH Hsieh + Lin scoring from second base - CC Chen is behind the plate catching Rong-Hao Hsieh. The kid bats lefty and throws righty and was a member of the 2006 and 2007 junior NT's. He is the 5th kid from the 2006 junior NT and the first from the 2007 junior NT to sign with a MLB team. CC Chen received a signing bonus in the area of $150 - 200K.



***In other news, Baseballfly.blogspot.com (in Chinese - although the memo is in English) is reporting that WMG held a workout for 4 pitchers yesterday at Pierce College in Southern Cal. The 4 kids listed are:
1)Kan I Che - this kid is supposedly the best of the 4, topping out at 90 mph
2)Shieh Chieh Hsu - this kid was a member of the 2007 junior NT
3)Lo Chiao Hao
4)Shih Li Wei

Baseballfly is also reporting that amateur P Chih-Lung Huang is now represented by Jerry Sung and his sports agency called US Giants Sports Management.

Lin & Monday Scores....

Lin:
Lin's signing was made official today in Taiwan. The Taipei Times quotes Red Sox Pac-Rim Coordinator John Deeble on Lin: "We wish him well. We think he is a very special player. (Lin has) four pluses as a runner, a defender, a thrower, and playing with great range."

Here he is in his Red Sox garb wearing #51 in honor of his favorite player - Ichiro.

According to news reports, Lin has been timed going from home to first base at 3.8 seconds. That puts him in some elite company - Ichiro out of the batter's box from the left side has been timed around 3.6 to 3.7 seconds. Lin's time (as a RHH) easily grades out at as an 80/80 on the scouting scale for speed. We'll get to see how his speed translates on the base paths this year in the GCL. Lin is scheduled to leave for the US on the 16th of June and will begin his career in the US a few days later ~ 19th of June. Lin is in a rush to get his career started because he hopes to make "The Show" in 4 years. Good luck to Lin and congrats to the Boston Red Sox!

NPB:
Lin was 1-4 as the Tigers got shutout Monday 1-0. Box

Yang continues to struggle with the parent club. He was 0-2 with 2 K's as the Fighters lost 1-0. Box

US MINORS:
AA - Jacksonville won 7-4. Hu was 2-5 with a RBI. Box

A - Wisky lost 3-0. Lo was 1-4. Box

Taking a Look Back...A Missed Opportunity....

Yu-Chi Wang
pic courtesy of baseballtaiwan.net

The name Yu-Chi Wang probably doesn't ring a bell for most people. However, in 2000-2001 Wang was the second Boston Red Sox signee from Taiwan, following Kevin Huang's signing in 2000. Wang-Yi Lin, the OF who signed with the Minnesota Twins last year, wasn't the first Taiwanese twin to join a MLB organization; that distinction falls to Yu-Chi Wang (whose twin bro Yu-Chen Wang was also a talented baseball player). Yu-Chi Wang, a RHP, stood around 5'11" and weighed about 180 pounds as a HS senior. Wang, who is 24 years old today, gained interest from the Sox because of his 88-92 mph fastball. Wang also attended HS baseball powerhouse San-Min HS, which has produced the likes of Chao-Kuan Wu, Chih-Hsien Chiang, and Chih-Hsiang Huang.

Wang never made it over to the US because of some pretty bad luck and timing. Wang was unable to obtain a visa to the US because of the 9/11 tragedy in 2001. The Red Sox were also in the midst of a change in ownership and the organization wasn't interested in lobbying the US government to grant him a visa at that sensitive time. So unfortunately for Wang his contract was voided.

Where is Wang today? I'm really not sure, but he isn't listed on any CPBL rosters. Maybe someone can fill us in as to how he's doing nowadays.

Thanks to baseballtaiwan.net for the story.

Loose Ends....

Kuo and Wang

With just about all of the overseas players back home in Taiwan, it's time for some R & R for these guys before gearing up for the upcoming 2007 season. In the pic above, it's good to see Kuo and Wang reunited - too bad Tsao couldn't be there. As noted by a few of you, Tsao is currently a free agent after being non-tendered by the Rockies.

In other small news, it's good to know that the Boston Red Sox continue to work hard at scouting Taiwan's amateur scene. The Red Sox have definitely shown their commitment to scouting and signing some of the best players from the Pacific Rim - especially these past 2 years.

After a weak 2007 CPBL draft and in an effort to hold onto top domestic amateur talent, the CPBL has decided to include high school players in the draft next year.

Interesting note on foreign players being recognized as international athletes. In essence, there won't be any more incidences where players have problems returning (i.e. Chin-Feng Chen with the Dodgers - while trying to win a roster spot in ST) to the US because of a shortage of player visas.

There were a couple of noteworthy MLB acquisitions that could effect the PT of a few Taiwanese prospects/players:
1)The Mariners acquired 2B/DH Jose Vidro from the Nationals. So in addition to Jose Lopez, Yung-Chi Chen moves further down on the organizational 2B depth chart. However, his offensive skills and defensive versatility - 2B/3B work in his favor.
2)With the signing of Jason Schmidt and Randy Wolf by the Dodgers over the past month, Kuo's status as a 5th starter is up in the air. He could return back to the bullpen and/or make sporadic starts.

Yung-Chi Chen....

Baseball America recently released it's 2007 top 10 prospects for the Mariners. Chen was named the # 9 prospect in the system - and tools-wise was selected as the guy with the potential to best hit for average.
After a solid year in the minors, Chen didn't get much time to rest as he joined the NT and participated in the Intercontinental Cup and the Asian Games. On a roster-full of CPBL stars and young prospects at the I-Cup, Chen led the team in BA (.472) and RBI's (9). He also hit a key grand slam against South Korea that began a surprising power-surge that continued through the Asian Games. Chen was the only selected All-Star representative from Taiwan at the I-Cup. At the Asian Games, Chen's hot hitting continued as he was second on the team (# 7 overall) in BA - .450, #2 overall in slugging - 1.050, tops overall in HR's - 3, # 5 overall in RBI's - 7. Here are vids of Chen's 3 HR's at the Asian Games: 1)vs. South Korea 2)vs. South Korea 3) vs. the Philippines
One thing Chen has improved upon throughout this year is his ability to produce runs and hit for power. This was evident as he hit 3rd in the lineup for parts of the last month in AA ball and at the I-Cup and Asian Games. This marked a stark contrast from the WBC where Chen was utilized as a leadoff hitter or during the early part of the minor league season (in A-ball/AA) where he was the #2 hitter in the lineup.
The 23 year old will be one to watch out for next year as he will probably be the next Taiwanese Major Leaguer. Although most project him as a utility IF at the ML's, that is a pretty good return on a guy who signed for only $210,000.

MISC.
-Bo Sox farm hand Chih-Hsiang Huang bounced back from a rough first season in the US with a nice showing the Fall Instructional League. Huang hit .370, flashing some of that raw potential that the Red Sox were enamored with when they signed him.

-For their gold medal efforts in Doha, each member of the 2006 NT received $92,800 for their winning efforts. Sweetness!

News Updates....(Twins Sign Lin)

Ok, lots to report here....Wang-Wei Lin

(pic from Apple Daily News - Taiwan)

*First and foremost, per my buddy and the news out of Taiwan, the Minnesota Twins have entered into the Taiwanese market by signing 18 year old outfielder Wang-Wei Lin. Lin, whose twin brother is none other than Red Sox pitching prospect Wang-Yi Lin, was considered one of the top hitting prospects on the 2006 junior NT that competed recently in Cuba. Lin, who struggled a bit in Cuba, flashed some of his potential by cracking one of only 2 HR's for the Taiwanese team - not bad considering the kids used wooden bats. Lin is rumored to have received a signing bonus in the ballpark of around $90-100K.

Ping-Yen Lee

*Next, the SoftBank Hawks and 18 year old Ping-Yen Lee have come to an agreement (sign-on bonus of around $335,000) and his signing was officially announced today. Lee will join fellow Taiwanese prospect, pitcher Yao-Hsun Yang on the nigun team. Despite standing only 5'9", Lee cranked out 53 HR's and hit above .500 over his 3 year HS career. Lee also has decent speed as he was clocked at 6.3 seconds over 50 meters.

Keng and Chen gearing up for the IC Cup!

*The final 24 man roster for the Intercontinental Cup coming up in November has been released:
Pitchers(10)
1)Chien-Fu Yang - CPBL
2)Wei-Lun Pan - CPBL
3)En-Yu Lin- CPBL
4)Yueh-Ping Lin - CPBL
5)Si-Yo Wu - CPBL
6)Po-Hsuan Keng - Blue Jays
7)Sung-Wei Tseng - Indians
8)Yao-Hsun Yang - Hawks
9)Chen-Chang Lee - Amateur
10)Ko-Chien Lin - Amateur
Catchers(3)
1)Chun-Chang Yeh - CPBL
2)Chih-Kang Kao - CPBL
3)Feng-Min Chen - CPBL
Infielders(6)
1)Chuan-Chia Wang - CPBL
2)Tai-Shan Chang - CPBL
3)Chih-Wei Shih - CPBL
4)Chih-Sheng Lin - CPBL
5)Yung-Chi Chen - Mariners
6)Chung-Shou Yang - Fighters
Outfielders(5)
1)Chin-Feng Chen - CPBL
2)Chia-Hsien Hsieh - CPBL
3)Chien-Ming Chang - CPBL
4)Yu-Hsien Ming - CPBL
5)Chih-Yao Chan - Amateur

Big Bro

Lil' Bro

*The finals for the CPBL is set: The LA New Bears will take on the President Lions in a 7 game series beginning October 21st. Should be interesting as some of the top domestic talent will be competing against one another - C.F. Chen, S.Y. Wu, W.L. Pan, and Y.P. Lin. Also the Chen brothers will be fighting for family bragging rights.

The Boys of Summer....

K.H. Lo - Mariners

C.H. Chiang - Red Sox

The two kids depicted above will get their chance this summer to prove if they are prospects or suspects. Of the recent signees from Taiwan, these 2 kids probably have the most upside of the bunch. The other interesting note is the fact that the Mariners and Red Sox have had a recent strangle-hold on the amateur prospect scene in Taiwan. While the jury is still out on Lo, Y.C. Chen's recent play has reestablished himself as a top prospect in the Mariners organization. C.K. Wu and C.A. Huang have been somewhat of a disappointment so far early in their careers.

After a horrid history with developing their Asian prospects (see Seung Song, Jin Ho Cho, Tai-In Che, Chul Oh, - just to name a few) , the Red Sox got their foot into Taiwan's doorstep when they signed Kevin Huang in 2000. While Huang's career with the Red Sox flamed out in 2003, the Red Sox renewed their pursuit of Taiwanese prospects in 2005 & 2006 with the signings of T.J. Yeh, C.H. Chiang, C.H. Huang, and W.Y. Lin

Despite the past presence of the Yanks, Dodgers, and Rockies in Taiwan, it looks like it's a 2 horse race for the present amateur baseball market on the island.

Ok on to Friday recaps:
Hu was 1-3 with a run scored and a walk. He was also thrown out trying to steal 2nd base. Box

Chen DNP with San Antonio.

K.H. Lo was 0-3, with a RBI, a run scored, and his 8th SB of the season. Box

Chiang was 0-2 tonight. Box

Chu DNP for the Alaska Goldpanners, while his teammate - Lan was 0-1 with a run scored. Box