Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Top Players From Taiwan

Taiwan hasn't produced many Major League Baseball players, but the Pittsburgh Pirates have a chance to break that trend with three highly touted prospects from the country

Taiwan isn't necessarily a hotbed for baseball talent. In Major League history, there have only been 16 players who were born in Taiwan to debut in America. Of those 16, just two have more than 100 plate appearances, and five have pitched in 50+ games throughout their big league careers. Among all the prospects ranked by FanGraphs, only two are from Taiwan.

But those two are Pittsburgh Pirates' prospects. Along with them, the Bucs also have a third unranked but still noteworthy Taiwanese prospect. The organization signed all three out of the international market. But there's a chance that they will find a productive Taiwanese prospect among their trio.

Po-Yu Chen

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Po-Yu Chen in the 2020-2021 offseason as one of their top international signees. The Pirates were able to sign Chen because of a trade made in the 2020 season, specifically when they sent Jarrod Dyson to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for international bonus pool money. Chen has pitched well so far in his pro career and has become one of the organization's more notable prospects.

Last season with Bradenton, Chen had a 4.58 ERA but a 3.76 FIP and 1.26 WHIP. Chen struck out 24.5% of opponents with a solid 8.7% walk rate. Chen did a solid job at limiting home runs, coming in with a 0.73 HR/9 rate through 98.1 innings of work. Chen only had a ground ball rate of 41.4%, but his xFIP still painted him in a positive light, coming in at 3.81 and only five points higher than his actual FIP.

Chen's stuff on paper is not impressive. His fastball only sits 90-93 MPH with a slider and curveball. But the one offering that does stand out is his splitter, which projects as a plus-plus offering. While his fastball/slider/curveball are average at best, they all play up because of his pinpoint command. He's one of the best command pitchers in the Pirate system who started off his career without allowing a single walk in his first 26 innings back in 2021.

Chen will start the 2023 campaign at Greensboro. He's only 21, but the right-hander could greatly improve his stock if he can conquer the launching pad that Greensboro is. Plus at such a young age and still only 6'2", 187 pounds, he could add another tick of velocity before he makes his big league debut. His fastball would really play up if he was consistently sitting 92-94 MPH.

Tsung-Che Cheng

Tsung-Che Cheng, a 2019 July international signee, has done nothing but hit since making his professional debut in 2021. In his first look at the Pirates' Florida Complex League affiliate, Cheng had a .941 OPS, .442 wOBA, and 154 wRC+ with a 30:14 K:BB ratio. Although he wasn't a 150+ wRC+ batter in 2022, he was still productive at the plate and had a phenomenal second half.

In 458 plate appearances, Cheng had a .270/.376/.418 line. Cheng walked at a 13.8% rate with a strikeout rate of just 20.7%. Cheng did have 25 doubles but just six home runs. He had more triples than dingers, with seven triples. Cheng used his ability to get on base to its fullest potential, swiping 33 total bases. All told, Cheng finished out the year with a .372 wOBA and 129 wRC+.

Those numbers are all well and good, but Cheng got off to an ice-cold start. From May 15th through September, Cheng was a .287/.405/.444 batter with a .397 wOBA, and 145 wRC+. Cheng struck out less (19.6% strikeout rate), walked more frequently (15.3%), and also hit for more power (.157 isolated slugging percentage) through his final 327 plate appearances of the season.

Cheng is fast and makes a lot of contact. Those are his two biggest strengths. He's also considered an average defensive middle infielder. He mostly played shortstop last season but still has plenty of experience at the keystone and at the hot corner. He also has a strong enough arm to stick on the left side of the infielder. But it's all going to come down to how his power develops or if he can develop his approach to work around his lack of power.

The Taiwanese infielder stands at just 5'7", 155 pounds. Sure, he's not all that much smaller than Termarr Johnson, who is 5'7",175 pounds, but Cheng doesn't have nearly the same physicality or bat speed as the former fourth overall pick. He has bottom-of-the-barrel raw power, and while he never is going to rival Barry Bonds, that doesn't mean he won't ever be productive. If Cheng can consistently spray line drives over the field and walk at an above-average rate, he could be a proto-typical leadoff hitter-type who can move around the field.