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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Five Notable Second Half Performances
By Noah Wright
Infielder Tsung-Che Cheng
Taiwanese prospect Tsung-Che Cheng turned in another quality season. In his rookie campaign in 2021, Cheng batted for a .941 OPS, .442 wOBA, and 152 wRC+ at the Florida Complex League. This year, Cheng has slashed .270/.376/.418 with a .372 wOBA and 129 wRC+. However, Cheng did a good portion of his damage in the campaign’s second half.
Cheng’s last 194 plate appearances of 2022 saw him bat .322/.451/.474, leading to an OPS of .924. While Cheng had just a .154 isolated slugging percentage, he was primarily an OBP-focused hitter. He walked 35 times with the same amount of strikeouts. Cheng used his strong ability to reach base to swipe 16 bags in 19 attempts. All told, he had a .431 wOBA and 167 wRC+.
Cheng stands at 5’7″, 155 pounds, which doesn’t give him a robust power outlook. However, he has consistently shown a strong ability to prevent strikeouts and draw his fair share of walks. He’s a speedy middle infielder who has seen time at second base and shortstop, both of which he can play reasonably well. Cheng is a good base runner who swiped 33 bases in 39 attempts.
2023 will be the infielder’s age-22 campaign. If he continues to hit well at Greensboro, we may see the Pittsburgh Pirates promote him to Double-A before the end of the season. If he can continue to develop, we could be looking at another potential middle infield option for 2024 and beyond.