Up and coming Taiwan Prospects?

Look for Kevin Huang for the Red Sox and Tiger Wang for the Yankees.

Kevin Huang is not a big time prospect, so not many people have heard of him, with a low-90s fastball and good curveball, Huang was rated as the 15th best prospect in the Red Sox organization by Baseball America last season, and was one of the few Taiwanese players to stay healthy and played the entire season.

He's getting hit a bit hard this season, but has settled down a bit in Augusta of the South Atlantic League. His 2003 Stats are:

W L S  ERA  G  IP   H  R ER BB KO HR
2 4 2 4.13 20 65.1 64 37 30 23 70  3

Chien-Ming "Tiger" Wang was named to the Futures' game, however he didn't pitch because of an injury he suffered two weeks before the game (was out for the entire 2001 season with a shoulder problem and had surgery). He's playing in AA right now and might get a shot at AAA before the season's over. If everything goes right, I expect him to be in the Major League next August/September. He's with the Yankees' organization, so he might get traded away before he makes his Yankee debut. His 2003 stats are:

W L S  ERA  G  IP   H  R ER BB KO HR
5 3 0 4.33 15 87.1 99 50 42 23 52  3

Frank

Thanks for the reply.

I am aware of those 2 guys as they've been in the U.S. minors for a few seasons each now. I was asking more about the amateurs in Taiwan, guys with no professional experience. The 3 guys I listed were on Taiwan's junior national team last year, and were all signed by MLB teams. I was just looking for the next wave of good young players.

Thanks again.

Looks to me that Wang was the one being hit in 2003, not Huang.

Chia-An Huang, our future star, only 18 years old. He could often pitch 92-95 mph and has nice sinker.

Thanks for the info, man.

Actually, I just got back to the US after visiting Taiwan for the first time over Christmas and New Years! I picked up a bunch of Taiwanese baseball magazines and books. Too bad I can't read that stuff, but based on what etaiwannews.com said, and the fact that there were several pictures in those magazines on Huang, I'm pretty excited about him being signed professionally somewhere.

You know, I watched a couple of high school games that were televised in Taiwan, and the majority of the kids don't throw that hard. Guys like Huang, Tsao, Kuo, and Wang don't come around that often, huh?

How often has he thrown 95? I think never, but then again, hype adds a few miles.

The International Baseball Bureau has announced that several Major League clubs have interest in RHP Chia-An Huang. He is planning on having a workout in March here in Los Angeles.

Yung-Chi Chen has officially signed with the Seattle Mariners today for $0.3 million. Yung-Chi Chen, twenty years old, is also Taiwan's best amateur shortstop at the moment.

Wow, that's great news. I searched the entire Web, but I couldn't find any news (in English) about his signing.

I knew Chen was pretty talented; that makes 4 guys who've been signed by MLB clubs from the 2001 Junior National Team! (Lo - Rockies, Hu - Dodgers, Cheng - Jays, and now Chen - Mariners) plus one from the 2002 Junior National Team (Wu - Mariners). This is a sign that Taiwan is producing talented players. Now they just have to prove their way in trying to get to the highest level of play in the world - the MLB.

Kenny, now that Huang Chia-An is on the radar, have Chiu Tzu-Kai (pitcher), Chiang Chih-Hsien (IF/OF), and Tsai Shen-Fu (IF) been scouted? Those guys played well last year at the AA World Championships.

I only know about Chiang Chih-Hsien, who has great power and speed. But I'm worried about his future because his school (San-Min Senior High) is not good at teaching hitting skills.

More good news today.^^ Wei-Yin Chen has signed with the Chunichi Dragons today for $0.85 million (8,934-man yen).

Kenny, who taught WU, Chao Kuan how to hit then? He also attended San Min Senior High did he not?

Kenny,

Thanks for all of the up to date info! Much appreciated. How do you know all of the breaking news? Are you a scout in Taiwan?

Your prediction that Chen W.Y. would sign in Japan was right on the money! It seems as if Seibu, Chunichi, and Daiei have all of the Taiwanese connections in Asia huh?

Thank you.

I'm not a scout. I'm just an ordinary person who loves baseball from Taiwan.

The definition of "poach" is to trespass on anothers property and or take by illegal means. I don't think "poach" is the proper word here. Possibly you could say they did a wonderful job of selling the dream of playing in MLB some day instead.

The term "poach" was taken from the following excerpt from a fairly good article written a few years ago about the Asian baseball wave:

Despite the wealth of talent, Major League Baseball is wary of poaching the best players from Asia. "We are very sensitive to the baseball structure of Asian countries, so I want to be careful that we respect their system," says major league commissioner Bud Selig. "How that plays out, only time will tell." What's certain is that the flow will increase.

You can read the entire article here [Google cache of Time Asia].

I was referring to the brand of baseball the locals are subjected to watching in Taiwan. The local level of professional play in Taiwan is vastly inferior to that of Japan and South Korea. Part of that is because of the talent drain of top talent to the U.S. and Japan. If you look at the past few World Cups/Asian Qualifying tournaments, the main stars for Taiwan have been Chen Chin-Feng (Dodgers), Chang Chih-Chia (Seibu Lions), and Wang Chien-Ming (Yankees). Without these players, Taiwan would definately not have fared very well in these tourneys.

The other concern is that the Taiwanese players in the U.S. minor leagues who don't make it to the Major League level are a big disappointment. Chen Chin-Feng, who has had 2 short stints with the Dodgers, is running out of time to show that he is MLB material. Most U.S. writers have written him off as a career minor league journeyman or as an AL DH. When the number one hitter in Taiwan can't make it to the Big Leagues, what does that say to the young kids playing ball in Taiwan?

Rumor is that Chen is not one of Jim Tracy's players. That's why he's not getting the opportunity that he deserves.

If you look at his stats from last year, they're much, much better than 2002. The Dodgers' main concern is his strikeouts, which he cut down on very much. Their other concern, which is his defense at first base, has made the Dodgers put him back in the outfield.

There was a rumor of him getting traded to Rockies near the trading deadline last year. Hopefully he'll get traded. He's not getting respect from Jim Tracy, and what's the point to play for a team where the manager doesn't appreciate you?

Ok, not much news to report, but I did find this on the internet about two young Taiwanese pitching prospects: Lin Yen Feng, 18 years old, and Su Che Yi, a 21 year old who throws 90+mph cheese. [Link - azcentral.com]

Hey, when is Huang Chia An going to get scouted here in the U.S.? Been waiting patiently to hear how hard he's throwing and what scouts think of him.

I think Huang Chia An just signed for Mariners.

You're right! It's official. Huang Chia-An has signed with the Mariners. [Link - king5.com]

I watched Po-Yu Wang of Shen Yang High School. He throws at around 93mph and has a excellent curve and split-finger.

Thanks for the update man!

I was curious as to if he's being scouted by any MLB or NPB teams. Do you know if he is going to play for the Junior National Team this year? If he pitches with Huang Chia An, that would be a great 1-2 punch for Taiwan's Junior NT.

Po-Yu Wang in Shen Yang High School? Don't know this guy. Could you give me more details?

Wang currently plays amatuer ball in Vancouver, Canada. He led his team to the Western Championships last season and won the Pitcher of the Year Award. He is 17 this year and (as I said before) throws the fastball at 92~96 mph with some movement. He has two kinds of curve balls (a huge one and a small one), and a devistating split-finger fastball, or what some people call a fork ball.

I believe his stats are 13-2, 1.32 ERA, with 135 strikeouts and 41 walks, but I'm not really sure.

Do you have a web site that has the stats or any info you listed on Wang Po Yu?

Wang didn't develop his skill until recent years. He wasn't much known until 2003 when he won it all.

I wouldn't say that Wang is that a good pitcher. I don't know where you got his stats from, but from what I've seen, he has loads of walks and has bad command. He only has good control over his fastball and curve, and his split-finger isn't "devistating" - it's more like like a straight change.

I haven't seen any evidence to support your claims.

The three top NTCPE pitchers would have a chance to play in the minors, I think.

Bo-Hsuan Gan, now 19 years old, could often throw 88-91 mph fastball. He says he will join the Toronto Bluejays this September.

Another two pitchers,Yin-Feng Tsai(21) and Sun-Wei Tseng(19) are both prospective pitchers, too.

To BC:

I found daiyi.idv.st [main page takes a long time to load] has some videos about Taiwanese high school pitchers. Hope you like them:

Wu Shin-Tsung (Nan-Yin High School) [Link]
Hung-Wen Chen (the cousin of Yi-Shin Chen; Sam-Min High School) [Link]
Lin Bo-Yo (Hua-Shin High School) [Link]
Chia-An Huang [Link]

[Admin Warning: Videos require patent encumbered media player.]

Wow! Thank you for those awesome links. Wu, Chen, and Lin are all impressive, hitting the 90 mph mark as high schoolers. But Huang's video is jaw dropping. I can't believe how he maintained his velocity for 9 innings. His 95 mph fastball is definitely legit! I just hope he doesn't blow out his arm.

Thanks again! Much appreciated!

What happened to Do? He pitched 8 shutout innings against the USA last year and was scouted like crazy. But where is he now?