"I've Got Next!!"

Sheng-An Kuo was the first signing of 2007. Who's next? Well, the top two prospects are both in HS, although one is playing in Japan.

1)The top signable HS prospect gathering significant attention in Taiwan is Nan-Ying Vocational HS (This Tainan HS baseball powerhouse has produced current Dodgers: Hong-Chih Kuo and Ching-Lung Hu) OF Che-Hsuan Lin. Rumor has it that multiple MLB teams, including the Cubs, Reds, Red Sox, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Twins have interest in Lin. Arguably the top positional player on the island in his graduating HS class, the kid is blessed with a lot of plus tools. The 18 year old's (DOB: 9/21/88) best attribute is his outstanding speed. He has run a 10.9 in the 100m dash. Not only is he athletic, but he has a plus arm, hits for average, has above average power, and is plus-plus defensively. The 6'0 - 185 pounder bats and throws righty.

Lin competed for the Taiwanese junior NT in 2006 - a team that finished 5th at the 22nd AAA World Junior Baseball Championships. During the competition, Lin appeared in 8 games, starting all games in CF. In 34 AB's, he hit .353, slugged .471, cracked a double, a HR, scored 7 runs, had 2 RBI's and 2 SB's. He also played flawless defense with no errors in the field.

Lin burst onto the world stage in 2000 when he hit a grand slam (one of only 9 in Bronco Series history) in the Bronco League World Series (for kids 11-12 years old). He alongside fellow junior NT and HS teammate Kai-Wen Cheng, led their Tainan team to the 2000 Pony League (Bronco Division) World Series Championship.

In a year with a weak crop of graduating HS pitchers, Lin is expected to be the second member of the 2006 junior NT to join a MLB organization (the first being OF Wang-Wei Lin of the Minnesota Twins). Due to current CTBA rules, don't expect Lin's signing to become official until after he graduates HS.

Here is a video link (courtesy of Heavenly Star) of Nan-Ying in action. Lin is #8 in the white uniform and is the leadoff hitter in the video.

Y.W. Kuo

C.H. Lin's HS teammate and fellow 2006 junior NT member Yen-Wen Kuo (SS) is another prospect who has garnered some attention. However as you can see from this video, Kuo def. needs to fill out his frame with a good weight training program. The 18 year old (DOB: 10/25/1988) stands 5'11" and weighs 168 pounds.

+'s for Kuo: soft hands, good range in the field, accurate arm, good bat control, plus runner
-'s for Kuo: lacks power, weak arm

2)The other top prospect is LHP Heng-Hsiao Kuo, who is currently playing HS baseball in Japan. Kuo who stands 5'11" has a max fastball of 92 mph. H.H. Kuo is following in the footsteps of Chung-Shou Yang by playing at his alma mater - Fukuoka Daiichi HS. Kuo is joined by 2 other Taiwanese kids currently playing in Fukuoka, Japan. Kuo is good enough to be considered a possible first round pick in next year's NPB HS draft.

*Updated*

Reunited.....

Tsao and Kuo - Back in the Day

Well I'm sure most of you have heard by now; the LA Dodgers signed Chin-Hui Tsao today. Terms of the deal are conditional pending a physical upon Tsao's return to the US. Tsao will be reunited with one time rival and good friend Hong-Chih Kuo. Despite multiple injuries diminishing the ability of both players, the resilience and dedication shown by both men is a testament to their strong determination and will. Here's to hoping both 25 year olds remain healthy and continue to inspire us all!

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.

On the Road to Gold? (Pics from Yesterday's SK Game)

Well, as most of you know by now, Taiwan defeated South Korea 4-2 (see last post for scoring recap) yesterday to help position itself towards the top seed in the preliminary phase. The biggest contributors to the NT were it's overseas stars: Kuo, Chen, and to a lesser extent Chiang.

Star of the Game - Y.C. Chen with 2 HR's

Winning Pitcher - Kuo

Reliever - Chiang

Circling the Bases after a HR - Hsieh

CF Chen Being Congratulated by Teammates after Scoring Run

Game Recap
Box Score
PlaybyPlay

NT vs SK Update....

I gotta hit the sack, but follow the rest of the game here. Jiayo!!

*Top of the 8th: Yung-Chi Chen cracks his 2nd HR of the game to put Taiwan up 4-2!!!!!!!!

*C.M. Chiang replaces Kuo in the bottom of the 6th. Solid job by Kuo - 5 innings - 1 run allowed on 6 hits to go along with 6 K's and 1 walk. Chiang allows a double and a single to plate another run for SK.
After 6 innings: Taiwan 3 - SK 2.

*Taiwan adds another run in the top of the 5th with a leadoff solo HR by Chia-Hsien Hsieh, knocking SK starter Son out of the game.
Heading into the bottom of the 5th: Taiwan 3 - SK 1.

*SK gets a run back in the bottom of the 4th after Kuo gives up a leadoff triple to the cleanup hitter. The next batter drives in the baserunner to make the score 2-1. Kuo gets out of the inning with a DP and a K.
Taiwan 2 - SK 1 heading into the top of the 5th.

*Taiwan's hitters have finally figured out SK starter M.H. Son in the top of the 4th inning. After 1 out, Yung-Chi Chen cracks a solo HR to put Taiwan up 1-0. Chin-Feng Chen follows that up with a double and a SB. Chih-Sheng Lin avenges an earlier K and drives in Chen with a RBI single. After getting out of a little jam in the 2nd inning, Kuo has 3 K's and 0 walks through 3 innings.
Taiwan 2 - SK 0 going into the bottom of the 4th.

NT WINS 2-1 over Cuba...

Lefty Lo

In it's final tuneup match prior to the I-Cup, Taiwan defeated powerhouse Cuba 2-1. Amazingly, that's 3 times this year a Taiwanese NT has defeated a Cuban NT. Amateur pitcher, Cheng-Lung Lo - another 19 year old, held the Cubans in check over the first 5 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits. Lo was clocked at 90 mph. Lo's relievers got the job done, blanking the Cubans over the final 4 innings. Chien-Fu Yang earned the win in relief of Lo, while En-Yu Lin also made his first appearance in a relief role. With the win, hopefully the NT has built some momentum and confidence going into the Cup.

Other NewsKuo reporting for his mandatory 12 day military stint

Kuo is back in Taiwan, fulfilling his military obligations and getting ready for the Asian Championships in December.

Kuo a Go for Asian Games....

Looks like the Dodgers gave the A-Ok for Kuo to pitch in Qatar in December. Read more here.

CPBL News:
CPBL to generate revenue via the sports lottery?

LA New Bears coach kidnapped

Loose Ends....

Majors:
Wow, what has happened to the vaunted Yankees offense?! The Bronx Bombers find themselves down 2 games to 1 and facing early elimination in the ALDS. Jaret Wright will pitch tomorrow in a crucial game 4 for the Yanks. If the Yankees win, Wang would be the probable starter for game 5 in NYC on Sunday.

More articles on Kuo....at least people now know his name.
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

Minors:
Ching-Lung Lo pitched on Wednesday in the HWB and took the loss for the Waikiki BeachBoys. Check box score here.

Dodgers Lose Game 2....

The Dodgers lost to the Mets 4-1 tonight. Kuo pitched 4.1 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 4 hits. All in all despite the loss, I thought that Kuo was solid tonight. Mets skipper Willie Randolph had this to say about Kuo, "He was tough again. We just made him pitch a little bit. We had some AB's where we taxed him a little bit."
Kuo, who was clocked in the low 90's/topping out at 94 mph - was hurt by a bout of wildness in the 3rd and 5th innings . A WP by Kuo in the 3rd inning and a leadoff walk in the 5th inning both led to runs scored for the Mets. Grady Little pulled Kuo in the 5th with the bases loaded and trailing 1-0 - he simply couldn't afford to give up any more runs thanks to a dominant performance by 40 year old veteran Tom Glavine (he threw 6 shutout innings). As for Kuo, he had 2 walks (1 intentional to load the bases in the 5th) to go along with 4 K's. Considering the fact that this was Kuo's 6th career ML start in an away game during the postseason with his team down 1-0 in the series - you have to chalk this one up as a valuable learning experience for Kuo. If Kuo can stay healthy, it'll be very exciting to see what kinda numbers he can post as a starter over a full season.

Box/Recap

SI appearance for Wang.....

In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated (10/9/06), there's a nice little interview on Wang, here it is - for your viewing pleasure:As for Kuo who will start tomorrow night against the Mets:
On ESPN tonight, Eric Byrnes - OF for the Arizona Diamonbacks was a guest anchor along with Vernon Wells. Eric had a lot of high praise for Kuo saying, "I won't lose any sleep if I never face that guy again.....He is probably the last lefthander in the game that I'd want to face right now...He throws a hard mid 90's fastball - he cuts it inside, every now and then he'll keep you honest and will 2 seam it away, (he has) a big looping curveball.....this guy has got some of the best stuff I've ever seen."

ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian went on to say that in a conversation with one time Mariner/Yankee Tino Martinez, Tino was so impressed by Kuo's last start against the Mets that he was quoted saying, "How is anybody gonna swing against this guy. I'd put him in the rotation right now for the post season." Someone in the Dodgers organization must've been listening to Tino.

Hopefully Kuo can help even things up for the Dodgers tomorrow night after today's close loss. The fact that Kuo is still pitching today is a testament to Dan Evans.

Japan
Hanshin won 4-2. Lin made an appearance in the game but had no stats.

Kuo/Wang Updates.....

News articles on:
Kuo 1
Kuo 2

Wang 1
Wang 2
Wang 3 *New

A Down Day on Sunday.....

Japan
C.M. Chiang took his first loss of the season as Yomiuri lost to the Hanshin Tigers 4-1. Chiang lasted 5 innings, giving up 10 hits, 4 runs to go along with 1 walk and 2 K's. Chiang also uncorked a wild pitch and hit a batter as well. Box
Lin DNP for the Tigers.

Amateur
The Taiwanese junior NT was eliminated by South Korea in a heartbreaker at the World Junior Championships. Despite outhitting SK 5-2, Taiwan was on the wrong end of a 1-0 game. Taiwan went with 2 pitchers and they dominated the South Korean lineup, giving up only 2 hits all game. Unfortunately for Taiwan, the South Korean pitcher was just as good, blanking Taiwan on a complete game 5 hit shutout. Box Link
Despite a promising start to the tourney, Taiwan's journey is now over. Overall, I'm still proud of their efforts, considering the lack of top talent on the team.

Majors
About the only good thing happening today was Hong-Chih Kuo's dominant pitching performance against the D-Backs. Despite his outstanding performance, Kuo earned a ND. Kuo left the game after the 7th inning in a 1-1 tie thanks to a defensive miscue, a lack of run support, and a questionable call to not send Kuo home from 3rd. Kuo went 7.0 strong innings, giving up 4 hits, 1 run - that was unearned with 3B Betemit's error. He also walked 2 batters, K'd 8 hitters, and doubled and scored a run in the 5th inning. Kuo was consistently in the low 90's with a high of 94 mph. Box/Recap
With the victory, Kuo showed that he belongs in the rotation during the Dodger's stretch run.


Wang's attempt for win #19 will happen on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. Getting the win won't be easy. His mound opponent, Kris Benson, has already won once this year against Wang and the Yankees.