Taiwanese Reliever Signs with Toronto

Frank,

Knowing that Cheng is on NT's developmental squad, is he better than Lo (P - Rockies), Wu (C - Mariners), or Hu (SS - Dodgers), all three who were signed before he was? He doesn't throw that hard - 85 to 88 tops, but since he's young (18), I guess he could add a few mph to that arm/frame. Being left-handed helps too.

One quick question for you: where are Lee Chen Nan and Chen Wei Yin? Both of these guys were instrumental in helping Taiwan win the Asian Juniors a while back and in winning a silver at the World Juniors last year. I'm surprised that no one has signed Chen yet.

In my opinion, Cheng is just a small market type player. He signed a minor league contract with only $400,000 signing bonus. Yes, he's young so he'll spend a few years in the minors before he's ready. The only player I can compare him to is Lo because they're both pitchers. But Lo is a higher prospect compare to Cheng. Toronto is not that high on Cheng just yet as they also agreed to let him play in next year's Olympics if he's selected for the national team that'll represent Taiwan in the Olympics.

He's not throwing that fast because he's more an Asian-type pitcher who uses off speed pitches instead of throwing a straight arrow right at the batters. He has gained valuable experience as he has been pitching to people that are older than him while a member of the national team.

I've no idea who Lee Chen Nan and Chen Wei Yin are, I moved to the U.S. almost 10 years ago and don't keep up with any Asian players unless they're over here in the North America.

I'm so excited about this coming up Olympics myself, Taiwan's baseball team is finally going to be there for the first time since 12 years ago when they stunned everyone by winning the silver medal. I miss the times when I was only 9 years old watching Kuo-Lee Chien-Fu beating Japan in the semi-final game. If you followed Taiwan closely back then, a lot of the players on that years' national team were veterans, and many of them signed with the Bears/Eagles (expansion CPBL teams in 93).

E-mail me if you've got more questions. Also, Google is a good place to find info on any players.

Frank

Lee Chen Nen - Wen-Hua University (sophomore) - But his arm was overused before he was a senior high school student.

Cheng Wei Yin - National College of Physical Education and Sports 1st grade. I've heard that Chen will join the Chunichi Dragons after this semester.

Thanks for the update, man.

Do you know more about what type of pitcher Chen Wei-Yin is? How hard does he throw, and why doesn't he want to pitch here in the US?

Sorry for my poor English, but I will try my best to let you know:

One reason is that NPB is more absorbing to him. But one of my friends said that he isn't satisfied with the offer, compared to his high school classmate, Chi-Hung Cheng (0.5M).

Frank,

I'm a huge fan of Taiwan baseball as well. I've been following them since I was a kid in PA. Suprisingly enough, Chen Chin Feng - Dodgers, Hsu Ming Chieh - Seibu Lions, Wu Chao Kuan - Mariners, now Cheng Chi Hung - Blue Jays, and Su Che Yi - NT pitcher, were all alumni of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.

I remember reading about Kuo as well in the 1992 Olympics. I thought he would be a stud in some pro league, but he was a bust in Japan.

Now that there are 9 Taiwanese players on MLB teams, I was following the next wave of players. Lee Chen Nan helped pitch Taiwan to the Asian Junior Championship in 2001, pitching a 2 hit shut out against the best Japan had to offer. He also plays the outfield and has a decent bat. I think he's around 19 years old now. The other guy I was talking about is Chen Wei Yin, the 18 year old star pitcher of the 2003 World Junior Championships. He was the only all star player on the Taiwan team that included Hu - signed with Dodgers and Wu - signed with Mariners. I'm just suprised that Cheng was signed before these other 2 guys. Just my 2 cents.

Kuo was a bust in Japan because a comebacker hit his ***. I search and found an article on Baseball America that MLB teams were interested in him before he signed in Japan after the 1992 Olymics.

Visit my blog on top where my name is highlighted if you're interested in the latest news of Asian players playing over here in the United States.

Oh man,

That's your site? Sweetness. I've been a frequent visitor in the past, esp. to the Taiwanese Heroes portion. Great site. I think it's the only one of its kind in English.

As for Kuo, yea, I was able to collect his card when he played with the Hanshin Tigers. Ironically, the Blue Jays had scouted him, but he was unable to pitch for for the Jays' scouts/organization due to his overuse in the Olympics.

The Blue Jays were actually one of the first organizations to get involved in the recruitment of Taiwanese players. Another Kuo - Kuo Tai Yuan, one of Taiwan's all time great pitchers was recruited by Wayne Morgan of the Jays. Ultimately Kuo landed with the Seibu Lions.

I guess things have come full circle with the Jays finally getting the Taiwanese pitcher in Cheng. I think Cheng is probably comparable in talent to Kevin Huang. Both were signed for relatively low bonuses as compared to top notch pitchers like Tsao C.H., Kuo H.C., Wang C.M., and Lo C.L.

Thanks for the complement. Yeah, I deciced to create it after not seeing enough support on Korean/Taiwanese players, I've taken a bigger step on the site since then as you can see.

Comparision between Cheng and Huang is great because they both have the same types of pitches and are built about the same. The main difference is that Cheng is a southpaw and has exposure to pitching to guys older than himself from experiences with the national team.

This is the article I was talking about that's from ten years ago. The success of Nomo and the opening of Japan, Korea, and Taiwanese government have made it easier for players to come play in the highest baseball competition now. [Link - BaseballAmerica.com]

Hehe,

Man, that's the same article that I got my info on Kuo Tai Yuan and Kuo Lee Chien Fu. Baseball America really does have some good information on Asian players/Leagues. I think Jeffrey Wilson of BA is the Taiwan correspondent and has written some excellent articles on Taiwan baseball/prospects in the past.

Well, let's hope 25% of these guys signed make the Majors and stick there. That's being pretty optimistic. 4/9 of Taiwan's guys are on 40-man rosters, but I only see Tsao being on the final 25-man roster. I would like to see Chen make the Dodgers' final roster, but I think the Dodgers' brass have given up on him. We'll see.

If you are interested in Taiwanese players, there's chinfengchen.com and chinhuitsao.net [available in English and Chinese]. Both are sites dedicated to each player, with a discussion board as well.

Is Chen going to be with the Dodgers in 2004? I looked at the Dodgers' Triple A club roster; didn't see his name on there. Also on the Spring Training 40 man roster for the Dodgers; he's not one of them. Can somebody let me know where he's at?

Thanks.

I'm not sure where you're getting your 40 man roster info from, but Chen is definately on the Dodger 40 man roster. [Official Dodgers Roster - MLB.com]