The Taiwanese simultaneously underestimate and overrate their national team. Depending on the outcome of international games, the popular sentiment swings wildly between “Taiwan is not a major baseball nation” to “Taiwan has the best team in the world” in a matter of hours. The accurate view is, of course, somewhere in the middle. My sense is that Taiwan historically outperforms in tournaments that are underweighted by other countries (e.g., youth competition, Little League, WBSC events) and underperforms or, perhaps, performs as one should reasonably expect in ones that are more universally important (e.g., WBC, Olympics).

Taiwan’s loss to Australia casts doubt on Taiwan’s standing in the baseball world.2 For those who have not swung to the pessimistic “not a major baseball nation” camp, many are in the “best in the world, but cursed in the WBC” phase right now. Without delving into that topic, let us focus on some direct observations from the game.

Bazzana shines

All eyes were on Travis Bazzana heading into Wednesday game in Tokyo, and he delivered. The 2024 No. 1 MLB draft pick led off for Australia.3 He hit 2-for-4 including a solo home run in the seventh inning. A top-20 prospect, Bazzana continues to grow the hype around him, and his first appearance in the WBC absolutely contributed to Australia’s win over Taiwan.

In his second at-bat he hit a single off Taiwan’s starter Jo-Hsi Hsu. Even when he could not find a hit, he put the ball in play against some of the best Taiwanese pitchers. Defensively, Bazzana shined as well, making an impressive diving play in the fourth inning.

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Alex Wells vs. cold bats

Taiwan’s collapse was especially surprising because of the conscious decision not to underestimate Australia. Jo-Hsi Hsu, one of the team’s ace pitchers alongside Ruei-Yang Gu Lin, was the starting pitcher. Hsu’s international free agent season with the Wei Chuan Dragons last year culminated in a high-profile deal with NPB’s SoftBank Hawks.

Yet, Hsu was outmatched by Australian lefthander Alex Wells, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher (2-3 career record) who plays for the Sydney Blue Sox. Wells pitched three scoreless innings and did not give up a hit. He struck out five Taiwanese hitters in a row in the second and third innings and effectively shut down Taiwan’s offense early in the game.

Wells’ dominance on the mound was accentuated by a struggling offense that has failed to generate runs leading up to the tournament. In the tune-up series against the SoftBank Hawks and Nippon-Ham Fighters in Taipei, Team Taiwan lost both games and scored a total of just one run. In the first game, where Jo-Hsi Hsu started for the Hawks, the team generated just two hits and struck out eight times. In the 6-1 loss to the Fighters, the team generated five hits and struck out 12 times.

Even though Taiwan’s batting seemed to heat up against the SoftBank Hawks’ farm team in the official warmup game in Miyazaki, extra-base hits were notably missing. The cold bats again failed to contribute on Wednesday, and Australia’s legion of lefthanders (Wells, Jack O’Loughlin, and Jon Kennedy) ultimately capitalized on this collective slump.

The depth problem

Injuries should not make or break a theoretical all-star team. With a full-fledged professional league in the CPBL, there should be plenty of top-level replacements for each position. While the withdrawal of Jonathon Long, a top Chicago Cubs prospect and excellent hitter, was meaningful, there were already plenty of contenders for the first base and DH spots. Designated hitter An-Ko Lin and Kungkuan Giljegiljaw, who pinch-hit for first baseman Nien-Ting Wu, both managed to get on base against Australia, but that was not enough.

Hao-Yu Lee’s was a more difficult situation, withdrawing hours before the first game due to oblique tightness. However, these are two spots out of the nine starting lineup and 30-man roster. The rest of the lineup still failed to generate any runs in a game that Taiwan was projected to win handedly. With captain Chieh-Hsien Chen expected to be out after sustaining a finger fracture, Taiwan’s depth problem, particularly in hitting, is only going to look worse against Japan and South Korea.

Cursed or not good?

So, is this a team that is supposed to be the best in recent years that is just experiencing a string of bad luck? Or, is it simply a bad team?

The bad luck is apparent. Specific to this year’s WBC, Long’s injury during spring training and Lee’s withdraw hours before the first game cannot be overlooked. Chieh-Hsien Chen’s injury can only be characterized as another unfortunate blow to team morale. All this adds credence to the theory that Taiwan is cursed at the WBC.

But there are also other considerations. Regression to the mean from the heights of winning of the 2024 Premier12 should be expected, and perhaps the mean here is just a worse team than what fans had hoped to see. If anything, not making it past the WBC pool stage reflects the historical norm for Taiwan.

The makeup of the team this year notably overweighs players abroad, with nearly half of the roster coming from foreign leagues in Japan or the U.S. and many of them joining training camp late. Even though most of these foreign-league players are pitchers, one can argue that the increased roster uncertainty (and disruption from injuries) based on this makeup hindered the team’s preparation phase.

Lastly, tournament play is naturally unpredictable, and the best team does not always win. It is difficult to interpret the results based on just one game then try to infer future performance. As unlikely as it is, the calculus changes yet again if Taiwan beats Japan. If Taiwan’s struggling bats manage to come alive against 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and win that game, then the opening loss to Australia will be a forgotten footnote.

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Team Taiwan arrived in Miyazaki on Sunday. Like Team USA, it was also impacted by an injury, though perhaps a less serious one. Others have left spring training in the U.S. for Japan to join their national team, which will face NPB’s SoftBank Hawks farm team in its final tune-up game.1

Jonathon Long sprains elbow

First, the big news is Jonathon Long. He was arguably the biggest get for Taiwan’s 2026 Classic run. Coming off a strong season with the Iowa Cubs and earning the Cubs’ minor league player of the year award for 2025, Long is known for his batting prowess. A top first base prospect, he was invited to the Cubs’ major-league spring training camp this year and has a chance to be called up this year.

On February 21, Long sprained his left elbow in a collision with a runner and exited a Cactus League game early. Though preliminary checks found no bone fractures, the team’s staff indicated his recovery schedule would take longer. Thus, instead of joining the Taiwanese team for the WBC, he withdrew from the tournament.

This news is devastating for Team Taiwan, whose high hopes hinged on its ability to recruit Taiwanese American players and Taiwanese-born players in the MLB and NPB systems.2 Long was near the top of their wish list.

Long will be replaced by Brothers outfielder Cheng-Jui Sung. You may recall Sung’s diving catch in the WBC qualifiers last year, where he went 5-for-9 with a home run.

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Stuart Fairchild makes diving catch

Speaking of diving catches, outfielder Stuart Fairchild, who signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Guardians late last year, made a diving catch and turned a 7-4-3 double play on the same day Long suffered his injury. Fairchild, who was the other Taiwanese American to join Team Taiwan, appeared in three spring training games with the Guardians before flying to Taiwan to join the national team.

Fairchild’s mother is from Taiwan, and he was in good spirits after arriving in Taiwan. He joined the team at Taipei Dome and hit some balls during batting practice on pitches thrown by former MLB pitcher Wei-Yin Chen. At a media event, he cited catcher Lyle Lin, who played in the Atlantic League last year, as a significant factor in his decision to play for Taiwan.

Other Taiwanese prospects

Tsung-Che Cheng had quite the start to the year. After being designated for assignment by the Pirates, he was claimed then DFA’d by the Rays. Then by the Mets. Then by the Nationals. Then, finally, by the Red Sox, who gave him a spot in spring training camp. He appeared in five games this spring.

Lefthander Yu-Min Lin was invited to the Diamondbacks’ major league camp this spring. In his sole game this spring, he gave up two runs over 1.2 inning, though he also struck out two. Lin is rumored to be the starter for Taiwan’s first game against Australia.

Athletics prospect lefthander Wei-En Lin also made a couple of appearances this spring training as a non-roster invitee. Both Lins have been reassigned to minor league camp prior to joining the Taiwanese team in Japan.

Kai-Wei Teng, who was traded to the Astros and who is not playing in the WBC, has made a couple of appearances as well. In his debut with the Astros on February 24, he struck out two Mets batters over two scoreless innings. After starting a few games for the Giants last season, Teng is vying for a bullpen spot this year.

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Some updated statistics:

• 15 players (9 pitchers) are from teams abroad, representing 50% of the roster1

• 3 players, including Athletics prospect Wei-En Lin, are 20 years old

• 2 players, Stuart Fairchild and Jonathon Long, are Taiwanese Americans

FOX Sports’ Rowan Kavner had Taiwan ranked 17 out of 20 in his WBC power rankings. Naming Yu Chang as the team’s “player to watch” and listing him as a shortstop, Kavner evidently has not paid much attention to the team. Chang spent most of 2025 at first base, and he may not even be the best first baseman on the team, with Cubs prospect Jonathon Long officially joining Team Taiwan.

Meanwhile, CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa had Taiwan ranked 18, squarely in the “just happy to be here” bucket, earlier this week. Chris Landers at FanSided was more generous, putting Taiwan at 16 but also calling it out as being a potential Cinderella from this bottom-tier group. Landers highlights Tigers prospect infielder Hao-Yu Lee as someone to watch.

Indeed, Hao-Yu Lee may well be the next Taiwanese player, the 19th ever, to play in an MLB game. He is the No. 3 third-base prospect per MLB Pipeline and is versatile defensively, splitting time between second and third base. He set career highs in extra-base hits, home runs, and stolen bases in 2025. He just turned 23.

Athletics left-hander Wei-En Lin is the other player to watch. Dubbed the “Taiwanese Snellzilla” by A’s assistant general manager Billy Owens, Lin has been able to garner strikeouts at the lower levels of the minor leagues. He was sent up to Double-A Midland last season. The buzz around him has grown considerably over the past year, and many, including Owens, are preparing to see his 2027 or 2028 ETA to reach MLB accelerate.

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Pitchers

• Chun-Wei Chang, LHP (NPB development, SoftBank Hawks)2

• Yi Chang, RHP (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• *NEW* Kuan-Yu Chen, LHP (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Po-Yu Chen, RHP (Triple-A, Pittsburgh Pirates)

• Hao-Chun Cheng, RHP (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

• Hsin-Yen Chuang, RHP (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Ruei-Yang Gu Lin, RHP (NPB, Nippon-Ham Fighters)

• Jo-Hsi Hsu, RHP (NPB, SoftBank Hawks)

• Chih-Wei Hu, RHP (CPBL, Uni-President Lions)

• Yin-Hao Lai, RHP (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Tung-Ming Li, RHP (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Chen-Wei Lin, RHP (Double-A, St. Louis Cardinals)

• Kai-Wei Lin, RHP (CPBL, Wei Chuan Dragons)

• Shi-Xiang Lin, RHP (CPBL, TSG Hawks)3

• Wei-En Lin, LHP (Double-A, Athletics)

• Yu-Min Lin, LHP (Triple-A, Arizona Diamondbacks)

• Chia-Hao Sung, RHP (NPB, Rakuten Golden Eagles)

• Tzu-Chen Sha, RHP (High-A, Athletics)

• Yi-Lei Sun, RHP (NPB, Nippon-Ham Fighters)

• Jyun-Yue Tseng, RHP (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Yan-Cheng Wang, LHP (KBO, Hanwha Eagles)

• Hong-Liang Wei, RHP (CPBL, TSG Hawks)

• Chun-Wei Wu, RHP (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

• Zhong-Ao Zhuang Chen, RHP (Double-A, Athletics)

Catchers

• Shao-Hung Chiang (CPBL, Wei Chuan Dragons)

• Pei-Feng Dai (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Giljegiljaw Kungkuan (CPBL, Wei Chuan Dragons)

• Lyle Lin (free agent)

Infielders

• Cheng-Yu Chang, SS (CPBL, Wei Chuan Dragons)

• Yu Chang, 1B (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Tsung-Che Cheng, SS (Triple-A, DFA’d by the Nationals)

• Kun-Yu Chiang, SS (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

• Hao-Yu Lee, 2B/3B (Triple-A, Detroit Tigers)

• Tzu-Wei Lin, 2B (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Jonathon Long, 1B (Triple-A, Chicago Cubs)

• Po-Hsuan Wang, 2B/OF (CPBL, TSG Hawks)

• Nien-Ting Wu, 3B (CPBL, TSG Hawks)

Outfielders

• Chen-Wei Chen (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Chieh-Hsien Chen (CPBL, Uni-President Lions)

• Chih-Cheng Chiu (CPBL, Uni-President Lions)

• Stuart Fairchild (MLB/Triple-A, Cleveland Guardians)

• Ching-Hsien Ko (Single-A, Los Angeles Dodgers)

• An-Ko Lin (NPB, Seibu Lions)

• Cheng-Jui Sung (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

The team will be cut down to a finalized 30-man roster ahead of the tournament in March, at which point the updated list will be published. Some high-level statistics in the, again, unconfirmed 43-man roster:

• 19 players (12 pitchers) are from teams abroad,1 representing 44% of the expanded roster, the highest proportion in history

• 14 players were members of Taiwan’s 2024 Premier12 team

• 9 players were members of Taiwan’s 2023 WBC team

• 5 players, all pitchers, are 20 years old

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There will certainly be more clarity later this week as players report to Kaohsiung. For now, the full list of players, along with their team and league affiliations, is below.

Pitchers

• Chun-Wei Chang, LHP (NPB development, SoftBank Hawks)

• Yi Chang, RHP (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Po-Yu Chen, RHP (Triple-A, Pittsburgh Pirates)

• Hao-Chun Cheng, RHP (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

• Hsin-Yen Chuang, RHP (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Ruei-Yang Gu Lin, RHP (NPB, Nippon-Ham Fighters)

• Jo-Hsi Hsu, RHP (NPB, SoftBank Hawks)

• Chih-Wei Hu, RHP (CPBL, Uni-President Lions)

• Yin-Hao Lai, RHP (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Tung-Ming Li, RHP (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Chen-Wei Lin, RHP (Double-A, St. Louis Cardinals)2

• Kai-Wei Lin, RHP (CPBL, Wei Chuan Dragons)

• Shi-Xiang Lin, RHP (CPBL, TSG Hawks)

• Wei-En Lin, LHP (Double-A, Athletics)

• Yu-Min Lin, LHP (Triple-A, Arizona Diamondbacks)

• Chia-Hao Sung, RHP (NPB, Rakuten Golden Eagles)

• Tzu-Chen Sha, RHP (High-A, Athletics)

• Yi-Lei Sun, RHP (NPB, Nippon-Ham Fighters)

• Jyun-Yue Tseng, RHP (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Yan-Cheng Wang, LHP (KBO, Hanwha Eagles)

• Hong-Liang Wei, RHP (CPBL, TSG Hawks)

• Chun-Wei Wu, RHP (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

• Zhong-Ao Zhuang Chen, RHP (Double-A, Athletics)

Catchers

• Shao-Hung Chiang (CPBL, Wei Chuan Dragons)

• Pei-Feng Dai (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Giljegiljaw Kungkuan (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Lyle Lin (free agent)

Infielders

• Cheng-Yu Chang, SS (CPBL, Wei Chuan Dragons)

• Yu Chang, 1B (CPBL, Fubon Guardians)

• Tsung-Che Cheng, SS (Triple-A, Tampa Bay Rays)3

• Kun-Yu Chiang, SS (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

• Hao-Yu Lee, 2B/3B (Triple-A, Detroit Tigers)

• Tzu-Wei Lin, 2B (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Jonathon Long, 1B (Triple-A, Chicago Cubs)

• Po-Hsuan Wang, 2B/OF (CPBL, TSG Hawks)

• Nien-Ting Wu, 3B (CPBL, TSG Hawks)

Outfielders

• Chen-Wei Chen (CPBL, Rakuten Monkeys)

• Chieh-Hsien Chen (CPBL, Uni-President Lions)

• Chih-Cheng Chiu (CPBL, Uni-President Lions)

• Stuart Fairchild (MLB/Triple-A, Cleveland Guardians)4

• Ching-Hsien Ko (Single-A, Los Angeles Dodgers)

• An-Ko Lin (NPB, Seibu Lions)

• Cheng-Jui Sung (CPBL, CTBC Brothers)

A summary of what they said and what it means for Team Taiwan:

1. RHP Kai-Wei Teng, through his agent, announced on Friday that he will not be playing in the WBC this year. He mentioned his MLB campaigns over the past two years and emphasized his desire to prioritize preparing for the upcoming season with the Giants. It is worth noting that Teng’s sole appearance in 2023 resulted in three runs (two earned) with no outs against Panama.

2. RHP Tzu-Peng Huang has not officially confirmed his status, but he is reportedly prioritizing spring training with his new team, the TSG Hawks, which kicked off on Saturday. Although there is still a possibility that Huang shows up to training camp on Thursday, the ambiguous responses thus far from both Huang and the Hawks about his participation suggest that is doubtful. Huang was a major contributor in both the 2023 WBC and the 2024 Premier12. He recorded a win against the Netherlands in 2023 and another against the Dominican Republic in 2024.

3. OF Li Lin, through his agency, confirmed he will not play in the WBC due to injuries. Lin, who just renewed his contract with the Rakuten Monkeys, has historically been an offensive machine for Taiwan. He flashed his slugging abilities against Australia in the 2024 Premier12, collecting four hits including a three-run home run.

With more than a handful of players abroad contributing to the team’s depth, particularly in pitching, dynamics with MLB clubs remain an outsized complicating factor for the roster.

Other notable players at risk of “decommitting” or opting out of playing for Taiwan include Detroit Tigers prospect infielder Hao-Yu Lee, who may be vying for a major league spot after Andy Ibáñez’s exit, and Arizona Diamondbacks prospect left-handed pitcher Yu-Min Lin, who is a probable non-roster invitee to spring training.

Phase one of the national team training camp starts on Thursday in Kaohsiung, and up to 30 players of the unpublished 43-man roster are projected to report. The good news is that, per manager Hao-Jiu Tseng, nearly all invitees playing in NPB are expected to play.

We are less than two months away from the WBC. Stay tuned for additional updates to the Team Taiwan roster.

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Covering the bases

Former MLB and CPBL pitcher Chin-Hui Tsao, age 44, has signed with the Fuzhou Sea Knights in China’s new spring league. Carlos Muñoz, Team USA bullpen catcher in the 2023 WBC and 2024 Premier12, will serve as the Uni-President Lions’ spring training guest catching coach.

Every few years, we see a sustained period of pitching hegemony in Taiwan. From 2020 to 2022, that accolade squarely went to CTBC Brothers ace José de Paula, who arrived as a 32-year-old foreign player signee. De Paula’s sheer mastery on the mound has since been eclipsed by other foreign pitchers, notably the Wei Chuan Dragons’ Drew Gagnon in 2023 and the Uni-President Lions’ Pedro Fernandez in 2025.1

This is very obviously an all-too-early coronation, but we may soon witness the arrival of another dominant, MVP-worthy pitcher: Erick Leal. Here is the overly optimistic case for Leal, who signed with the Fubon Guardians after being pursued by both the Guardians and the Wei Chuan Dragons this offseason.

Cubs teenage prospect

Leal, born in Valencia, Venezuela, was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks as a 17-year-old in 2012. After spending his first professional season in the Dominican Summer League, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs. Baseball America had the below commentary:

… he stood out for his size, delivery, ability to throw strikes and spin a breaking ball. He progressed quickly and in some ways became a different pitcher than scouts had expected. He … [has] gotten more life on his fastball, which was 85-88 mph when he signed but now sits around 88-89. Leal’s best pitch is his mid-to-high 70s breaking ball, an advanced pitch for his age with a chance to be plus. He … [has] developed feel for [his changeup] as well, giving him the potential for three average or better pitches if his velocity continues to climb. He pitches inside, moves the ball around the zone and throws plenty of strikes, and he walked just 1.4 batters per nine innings last year.

With his two- and occasionally three-pitch arsenal, he rose through the ranks in the Cubs system, going from Rookie, Short-Season A, Low-A, High-A from 2013 to 2016 in a linear “one stop per season” fashion. Following the 2016 season with High-A Myrtle Beach, he underwent Tommy John and missed the entire 2017 season.

When he returned to Myrtle Beach in 2018, he was a new and improved pitcher, posting a 1.41 ERA and 61 strikeouts over 21 games. Scouts had pegged his changeup as a plus pitch and his best offering. He shined in the Arizona Fall League that year, showcasing a 74-75 mph curveball with big depth.

The de Paula parallels

In 2020, 32-year-old left-hander José de Paula arrived in Taiwan, bringing with him eight years of minor league experience and a brief stint in the majors in 2015. In his sole MLB appearance, he pitched 3.1 innings for the New York Yankees and gave up one run. That year, he finished with the Yankees’ Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre squad with a 2-3 record and 5.20 ERA.

De Paula had recently come off a decent season in the hitter-friendly Mexican League, achieving a 8.7 K/9 and 3.00 K/BB across two clubs in 2019. He translated that into complete dominance in Taiwan after signing with the CTBC Brothers. In 2020, admittedly a unique year in baseball2 and de Paula’s first in Taiwan, he led the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA—winning the coveted triple crown.3 The Dominican pitcher then repeated his dominance over the next two years, leading in strikeouts in both and in ERA and wins in each of the next two years.

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Hear me out.4 Like de Paula, Erick Leal also has eight years of minor league experience plus a few years of Mexican League under his belt. His MiLB splits at least until 2019 suggest a history of being effective against left-handed hitters. That trend reversed this past season, but control was the broader issue as evidenced by concerning home run and walk rates.

Just as de Paula was excelling in the Taiwanese league, Leal was doing so in Mexico. In 2024, pitching for the Diablos Rojos, he posted a 2.91 ERA, 10.6 K/9, and nearly four strikeouts per walk. He helped his team win its first Mexican League title in a decade. In game two of that year’s Serie del Rey, Leal struck out eight over 6.1 innings in the combined shutout.

Leal was most recently a Yankees pitching prospect. He was invited to spring training this past season5 and had a decent year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with some bright moments. He was named International League pitcher of the week in August, notably striking out 10 over a seven-inning shutout against Nashville.6 He posted a 9.5 K/9 for the season and elected free agency at the end of the year.

In his prime, de Paula’s arsenal included a four-seam fastball that sat at 90-93 mph (peaking at 96 mph), a plus curveball that generated whiff, and an off-speed pitch that forced ground balls. Leal’s arsenal in the Mexican League? You guessed it: a low-90s fastball, a plus curveball, and a changeup.

What to expect from Leal?

Erick Leal will be joining the Guardians at age 31, just a year younger than de Paula when he joined the Brothers. Unlike many of the more recent foreign pitcher signees in the league, he does not have NPB or KBO experience and reached Triple-A only in the last year without ever being called up to MLB.

This lack of “relevant” Asian league experience or MLB prestige has raised some questions as to why he was pursued by multiple CPBL teams. However, his progression in the Mexican League from 2021 to 2024 and and recent adjustments as a Yankees prospect make him an attractive candidate to bolster any CPBL rotation.7

Leal has added a high-70s sweeper and an effective splitter, the latter of which he first started throwing in June. He increasingly relied on the splitter over the course of 2025 and, like his curve and sweeper, it had a whiff rate in the high-30s. He is expected to use his balanced pitch mix to his advantage and generate a ton of strikeouts. If all goes well in his adjustment to the CPBL, he is poised to be one of the best foreign pitcher acquisitions this year.

This Leal hype may age poorly in just a few months. A major concern is that he has recently given up too many home runs (i.e., 2.0 home runs per nine innings at Triple-A, almost double the league average). However, his strikeout numbers speak for themselves, and if you are a Guardians fan or front office executive (or specifically Guardians assistant general manager Wei-Chu Lin),8 you are counting on every bit of this hype to come true.

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Covering the bases

Slugger Li Lin finalized his eight-year contract extension with the Rakuten Monkeys. An annual international collegiate tournament featuring teams from the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan is set to begin in 2026, with the inaugural edition held in Taiwan. The Nippon-Ham Fighters and SoftBank Hawks have expressed they are supportive of their top Taiwanese pitchers (Ruei-Yang Gu Lin, Yi-Lei Sun, Jo-Hsi Hsu) playing for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic.

This year is Manny Ramírez’s 10th and final year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. The general consensus is that he will not get enough votes to be inducted, even if he gets a final-year sympathy bump. He has the numbers to back up his legacy, and even though his performance-enhancing drug (PED) controversy will likely prevent him from getting enough votes, this is a story of how he (basically) saved Taiwanese baseball.

Manny’s Hall of Fame case

Manny’s career statistics are simply impressive. A few highlights from the Hall of Fame ballot: 12-time All-Star (1995, 1998-2008) and nine-time Silver Slugger Award winner (1995, 1999-2006) as outfielder… Won World Series MVP with Red Sox in 2004…Member of Red Sox’s 2004 and 2007 World Series Championship teams.

According to Baseball Reference, from 1996 to 2006, Manny never produced wins above replacement (WAR) below 4.0 in any given season, and he contributed 7.3 WAR in 1999.1 He was an excellent slugger, leading the AL in slugging percentage and OPS in 1999, 2000, and 2004. He slashed .312/.411/.585 over his entire MLB career.

Alas, Manny Ramírez failed two PED tests and was suspended twice, in 2009 and 2011. He retired from MLB the second time and never quite made it back even as he tried. If not for his PED-related suspensions, Ramírez would have undoubtedly been inducted into the Hall of Fame already. His statistics are unquestionably solid, and even his critics would agree he was one of the best right-handed hitters of all time. Former teammate and slugger David Ortiz was inducted in his first year of eligibility, and Manny put up significantly better numbers over his career.

But, if not for the way his MLB career ended, he may not have gone to Taiwan and rejuvenated its national sport.

Dark ages and a national crisis

Taiwanese professional baseball experienced the second of its dark ages in the late-2000s,2 with four game-fixing scandals occurring within five years. The 2009 scandal involved many star Brother Elephants and Sinon Bulls players and dealt a major blow to an already embattled league. That year, the government convened a national affairs conference3 and set up a task force with the goal of reviving the national sport. Nevertheless, attendance was down almost 30% from its 2009 levels for each of the next three years and was poised to trend further downward.

Out of this chaos and decline came a much needed restructuring: Sinon Corporation sold the Bulls to Kaohsiung-based conglomerate E-United Group, who renamed the team EDA Rhinos.4 The team under new ownership immediately pursued new initiatives, one of which was: acquiring Manny Ramírez.

After retiring from MLB in 2011, Ramírez filed to be reinstated and ultimately served a negotiated-down 50-game suspension in the Oakland Athletics system. Once released by the A’s, he expressed interest in playing in Taiwan. The Rhinos were determined to make a deal happen and publicly confirmed their intention to sign him in February 2013. They reached an agreement with Ramírez in March and successfully acquired the most decorated foreign player in Taiwanese history.

On March 11, 2013, Manny arrived in Taiwan. His first words upon arrival? “I love Kaohsiung.”

Manny mania

Kaohsiung loved Manny back. His arrival was met with extreme excitement. It was unprecedented for someone with all of his credentials aforementioned to join the Taiwanese league. And he delivered not just star power, but also dominance in the batter’s box. On April 4, Manny hit his first home run in Taiwan and then went on to hit seven more in the next three months. He slashed .352/.422/.555 with 21 extra base hits and 43 RBI in the 49 games that he played in Taiwan.

Like a whirlwind, Manny’s visit was fast, impressive, and very short-lived. By the end of June, when he announced he would opt out of his contract, he was leading the league in batting average, home runs, and RBI. He already led the Rhinos to their first half-season title in the team’s inaugural year.

By some estimates, Manny’s first week in Taiwan drove NT$13.7 million, or nearly half a million US dollars, in ticket and advance sales alone. In 2013, the league drew 1,459,072 total attendees, a 150% increase from the year prior and the largest audience in a decade.

Where are they now?

EDA Rhinos: The EDA Rhinos struggled without Manny in the second-half, placing last in that half, but they still secured a berth to the Taiwan Series given their first-half title and second place overall record. They lost the 2013 Taiwan Series to the Uni-President Lions. After four seasons and a championship in 2016, E-United Group sold the team to Fubon Financial for NT$300 million (toughly $10 million). As the Fubon Guardians, the team has struggled perennially and seen frequent manager turnover.

Manny Ramírez: After leaving Taiwan, Manny spent a few years in the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs systems before signing with a Japanese independent league team and the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League. His seasons were cut short or canceled altogether due to COVID-19 and ongoing medical issues. He has been on the Hall of Fame ballot since 2017, reaching 34.3% of the vote last year.

As for Taiwanese baseball? It got a much needed boost from Manny mania.5 Although it would not reach the same 1.5 million audience size achieved in 2013 until almost a decade later, the consistent 1.3-1.4 million annual attendance prior to the global pandemic stabilized the fanbase. In 2020, amidst the pandemic, Manny expressed interest in returning to Taiwan, at age 47. The CPBL did not need Manny’s star power to generate interest this time, and it became the first league in the world to return to action while the rest of the world suspended play.

The league eventually added two expansion teams, the Wei Chuan Dragons in 2021 and the TSG Hawks in 2024. Attendance has reached all-time highs every year since 2023. Even though it has been over 12 years since Manny Ramírez played half a season for the EDA Rhinos, Taiwanese baseball will always have him to thank for reviving the sport all those years ago.

And, for that, perhaps Manny deserves an honorable mention at Cooperstown.

Covering the bases

Taiwan Cooperative Bank defeated Taichung and won its seventh Popcorn League title. The Rakuten Monkeys have offered slugger Li Lin an eight-year NT$180 million ($5.7 million) contract extension. Athletics left-hander Wei-En Lin got a MLB Pipeline as a member of one of 2025’s most improved farm systems. The SoftBank Hawks announced they were supportive of new signee Jo-Hsi Hsu playing in the World Baseball Classic.

In terms of domestic Taiwanese players, things have not fared so well for three former MLB/MiLB pitchers who returned to Taiwan in 2020 and 2021 and whose contracts are up this year:

• Wei-Chung Wang, LHP: Wang played for several MLB clubs (most recently the Pittsburgh Pirates) and was the first Taiwanese pitcher to play in the KBO. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the Wei Chuan Dragons in 2020 and was non-tendered this offseason. He is rumored to be pursued by the Fubon Guardians.

• Shao-Ching Chiang, RHP: Chiang signed with the Cleveland Indians organization in 2012 but never made it to the majors. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the Fubon Guardians in 2021. He was just picked by the Uni-President Lions as part of the compensation package for catcher Dai-An Lin.

• Jen-Ho Tseng, RHP: Tseng showed tremendous promise as a teenage prospect and signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2013. After a couple of minor league seasons where he showed progression, he was called up to pitch against the New York Mets in his MLB debut in 2017. In total, he pitched in just three MLB games, recording a 9.00 ERA over 8 innings. In the 2021 CPBL draft where Chiang was selected No. 1 overall, Tseng was picked in the third round by the Rakuten Monkeys.

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All three pitchers returned to Taiwan in a high-profile fashion and signed large contracts. As top draft picks, Wang signed a 5-year, $2 million deal with the Dragons, and Chiang signed a 4.5-year, $2 million deal with the Guardians. Tseng, who fell to the third round in 2021, signed with the Monkeys on a 1.5-year, $240,000 deal. His latest contract renewal before the 2024 season, a two-year extension, was valued at an estimated $435,000.2

It may not look it, but Jen-Ho Tseng was at one point a top pitching prospect in the Chicago Cubs system. He had very brief MLB stints (three games) in 2017 and 2018 and was released in 2019. He then signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers but spent most of the year recovering from a shoulder injury.

Early promise and repertoire

Tseng was a star pitcher at his Sanmin High School in Kaohsiung, reaching 96 mph as a high schooler. He represented Taiwan in the 2011 Asian Junior Championship, 2012 U18 Baseball World Championship, and 2012 Asian Baseball Championship. Tseng pitched at the 2013 World Baseball Classic as a 18-year-old but did not perform well, with his “fastball sitting in the high-80s and his breaking stuff lacking in its usual crispness.”

Still, he was signed by the Cubs for $1.625 million that year for his potential. Tseng was consistently ranked near the top of the Cubs’ pitching prospect list and was named the team’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2017. He was called up in September and became just the fifth Taiwanese pitcher to take the mound in an MLB game.

At his peak, Tseng’s fastball sat at 91-92 mph with a maximum velocity up to 95-96 mph. He also uses a curveball and changeup to round out a versatile mix, though his command has frequently been a concern. According to him, he picked up tips on the circle changeup from three-time All-Star Jered Weaver.

Outlook for 2026

Tseng’s 2025 season was marred by injuries, and he pitched just 18 innings in the CPBL major league, including three starts. Over his five years with the Monkeys, he made a total of 38 starts out of 57 appearances and turned in a lackluster 4.41 ERA in 226.1 innings pitched. His best season was in 2022, when he went 7-2 over 11 starts and recorded 54 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA.

A stellar 2023 postseason, including two productive appearances in the Taiwan Series, bumped his value just in time for his contract renewal two years ago. Now, the number that has been circulating is a NT$400,000 monthly salary, which is roughly $150,000 on an annualized basis. It would be a reversion back to the level Tseng was offered when the Monkeys drafted him in 2021.

Can the Dragons extract any value from Jen-Ho Tseng? With the departure of Jo-Hsi Hsu, they certainly are looking to fill a gap in their starting rotation. Drew Gagnon and Bryan Woodall,3 who were both re-signed, will continue to headline the front end.

If Tseng resolves his elbow and back issues, the Dragons can hope to see a reliable pitcher reaching his 2022 or 2023 ceiling. However, at age 31 and with little visibility into his path to recovery, this capped upside is paired with outsized downside risk in 2026. He may provide some utility as a reliever, but it would be a pleasant surprise if he is able to get ahead of schedule and step up to a mid-rotation starter role.

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Covering the bases

Tainan defeated Taipei and advanced to the Popcorn League semifinals, along with Taiwan Cooperative Bank, Taipower, and Taichung. The Rakuten Monkeys, fresh off their championship, were treated to a trip to Vietnam. Brothers minor league manager and former star slugger Cheng-Min Peng was nominated for the 2026 class of the Taiwanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

The real news: Basegarden, a youth baseball foundation focused on rural Taiwan, partnered with tech company MetaAge to donate laptops to rural schools and present a seminar on AI. While not as provocative, this small step is arguably more significant in a culture where, historically, athletics and academics are separated at a young age.

Let’s rewind 50 years. Youth baseball development was largely a nationalist initiative in the 1970s. Chiang Kai-shek’s authoritarian government, still fixated on “taking back the mainland” and decades away from democratizing, saw its diplomatic influence start to crumble. It needed a way to solidify its legitimacy and found this in what I will call the “youth baseball arbitrage.”2 It was a formulation to take advantage of the U.S.’s relaxed attitude toward training young players and its concurrent fascination and coverage of world competition in Little League Baseball.

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The nationalist impulse

After sending a Taichung team that won the Little League World Series (LLWS) title in 1969 and receiving international coverage, the winning formula became simple in the 1970s:

1. Field a team to play in the LLWS;

2. Display dominance (i.e., win a lot);

3. Receive American “international” coverage;

4. Feel like a strong nation;3 and

5. Repeat step 1.

This was evidently a self-sustaining cycle and resulted in a win-at-all-cost mentality. At worst, it fostered unsavory tactics discussed in Andrew Morris’s Colonial Project, National Game.4 At best, the national obsession spurred specialization and generated a pipeline of young winners. Teams from Taiwan won 17 titles in a three-decade stretch starting in 1969, not to mention the wins at the Senior and Big League levels.

Exactly how Taiwan or Chiang’s government was portrayed seemed secondary to the fact that there was any coverage at all. All press was good press at that point. Chiang’s government was expelled from the United Nations in 1971, and Taiwan remains unrepresented in many international organizations to this day.

Nonetheless, the national baseball craze produced cohorts of top players like Yuen-Chih Kuo but also byproducts like the unlikely story of Cheng-Wen Wu.

A tale of two champions

Yuen-Chih Kuo, or Genji Kaku as he is known in Japan,5 was born in 1956 in Taitung, southeastern Taiwan. He was a pitching phenom who caught national attention in 1969, the year Taiwan held a national team identification tournament to organize a national superteam.

Kuo excelled on the mound, reportedly throwing a 13-inning, 220-pitch(!) complete game at one point, and batted .350 in the tournament to earn a spot on the Taichung Golden Dragons. The Taiwanese all-star team won the Far East region and then powered past Canada, Ohio, and California to win the 1969 LLWS title. This was the first ever championship won by a team from Taiwan.

Kuo’s baseball career took off a few years later. He signed with the Chunichi Dragons in 1981 and never looked back. His fastball reached 151 km/h (about 94 mph) in his NPB debut. Over his 16-year career in Japan, Kuo recorded 106 wins, 116 saves, a 3.22 ERA, and 1,415 strikeouts. He was inducted into the Taiwanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.

Many players that were part of the pipeline of champions, like Yuen-Chih Kuo, came from rural and indigenous communities. They devoted their schooling years almost exclusively to baseball. Most, unlike Kuo, would not reach his level of success, or anywhere close to it. For a Taiwanese athlete trained for professional baseball, Kuo achieved the traditionally ideal outcome.

Cheng-Wen Wu, our second protagonist, was born in 1958 in Tainan, southern Taiwan. Like many of his classmates, he played baseball at school. In 1971, two years after Taichung’s historic win, Wu’s Tainan Giants entered the LLWS as the Far East regional champions and also dominated. A standout pitcher, Wu threw a shutout in the 11-0 win against Hawaii in the semifinals. In the championship game, Tainan defeated Gary, Indiana, led by future MLB player and manager Lloyd McClendon.

The glorious win in Williamsport may have turned out to be the least remarkable feat in Wu’s life in the context of Taiwanese history. After all, it was replicated by eight other Taiwanese teams over the next decade.

After his baseball career, which did not extend much further, Wu received degrees in electrical and computer engineering, first from the prestigious National Taiwan University (NTU) then from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned his master’s and Ph.D. Following his extensive schooling, Wu joined the faculty of the National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) and eventually became vice president of NTHU. He was one of eight candidates running to become president of his alma mater NTU.

In 2024, Cheng-Wen Wu became minister of the National Science and Technology Council, stewarding the research and development of some of the world’s most advanced technology. As Taiwan’s “tech czar,” Wu oversees the funding of academic research and the development of industrial complexes like the famed Hsinchu Science Park.

Wu’s career path could not have differed more from Kuo’s. Even though his baseball career peaked early, his integration into the world outside of baseball is truly a blueprint for educating young players. Five decades after their shared experiences as Little League champions, they are linked once again in the modern age.

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Competing futures of youth baseball

The thread that brings Kuo and Wu together is another ballplayer, former CTBC Brothers outfielder and Hualien native Szu-Chi Chou. Chou was born in a small town in Hualien called Guangfu, or Fata’an in Amis. He is a three-time recipient of a youth baseball scholarship established by Yuen-Chih Kuo.

According to Chou, he was only able to afford a left-handed glove because of the scholarship. Chou’s professional baseball career spanned 20 years. He is a four-time Taiwan Series champion (all with the CTBC Brothers / Brother Elephants) and MVP in 2012.

Inspired by Kuo’s philanthropy, Chou founded Basegarden in 2013 to support youth baseball players in rural Taiwan. However, unlike Kuo’s scholarship, Basegarden focuses on the players’ academic pursuits, often outside of baseball. It has partnered with TSMC to offer career resources and broaden professional opportunities, for example.

So, a Kuo protege is now helping the next generation of baseball players build tech literacy and diversify their career paths. In essence, he is working to produce more Cheng-Wen Wus. The future is bright for Taiwanese youth baseball players who will all become well-rounded students and excel in other fields beyond their playing careers … right?

Not exactly. For one thing, the nationalist impulse is still there. After Team Taiwan won the 2024 Premier12 title, EasyCard Corporation announced it would donate to the Taiwan Indigenous Baseball Development Association, with the explicit goal of producing future indigenous players that can bring home more golds.

The Taiwanese want to see their country win. Players are viewed as tools to help achieve that goal, and indigenous communities have historically been the perfect toolboxes to draw from. That means continued specialization into sports for marginalized kids with little pathways to alternative careers—the opposite of what Basegarden is aiming to achieve. The irony is that when it comes to putting Taiwan back on the map, winning countless Little League titles seems pretty ineffective.

Will there be another Yuen-Chih Kuo? Almost certainly.6 The more important question is: Will there be another Cheng-Wen Wu? A Little League champion turned tech czar (or industry titan or leading artist)? We shall see in a few years, or decades.

Covering the bases

The TSG Hawks have re-signed slugger Steven Moya to a one-year deal. Hawks right-handed pitcher Spenser Watkins announced his retirement. Baseball America projects left-hander Wei-En Lin to be the Athletics’ No. 4 starter in 2029. Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Jen-Ho Tseng, who was non-tendered by the Rakuten Monkeys, reportedly agreed to terms on a deal with the Wei Chuan Dragons.

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The making of a historic deal

At age 33, Dai-An Lin is a tenured catcher in the league. Drafted by the Uni-President Lions in 2015, he became the team’s top catcher in 2019. He re-signed with the Lions to a three-year contract in 2022 and a one-year deal this past year.

At the end of the 2025 season, Lin became one of three players that entered free agency, along with teammate outfielder Chih-Chieh Su and Rakuten Monkeys right-handed pitcher Tzu-Peng Huang. The CTBC Brothers, Fubon Guardians, and TSG Hawks offered multi-year contracts, with TSG bowing out after signing Tzu-Peng Huang to a five-year, NT$66 million ($2.1 million) deal.

The Lions officially offered a five-year contract in an attempt to keep the star catcher. In the end, Fubon’s seven-year, NT$56 million ($1.8 million) contract, which includes provisions of transitioning to a coaching role in the last two years. Dai-An Lin represents the Guardians’ first acquisition via free agency and the Lions’ first departing transferee via free agency. The contract is the eighth largest in league history.

Hoarding catchers

Prior to submitting their 60-man protection roster, the Guardians had a total of 11 catchers between their major and minor league rosters, the most of any club in the league. In the major league, the starting spot was split between Pei-Feng Dai and Wei Li this year.

Dai was a member of Taiwan’s winning squad in the 2024 Premier12 but struggled at the plate in the second half of 2025. Li made the most errors out of all catchers in the league and was typically the weak link in the batting lineup, slashing a measly .190/.240/.234 in 2025. Naturally, the team needed a solution given its young prospects were still a couple years away from being ready for the job.

The Guardians selected the two top high school catchers in the country in this year’s draft: Yu-Hao Chang (Pu-Men HS) and Ting-Yi Chiang (Ping-Jen HS). They also signed undrafted Hsiao-Hu Yang as a development player. These three prospects are expected to spend most if not all of 2026 in a minor league capacity. The other top prospect is Yi-Ming Hsiao, a 2018 draftee along with Pei-Feng Dai.

The Guardians non-tendered four catchers this offseason to make room for Lin, who is now expected to split the starting catcher role with Pei-Feng Dai in 2026. His strength against left-handed pitchers complements Dai’s relative weakness. Most importantly, Lin’s elite intangibles as a catcher—communication on the field, pitch selection, etc.—and clubhouse presence are undoubtedly elements the Fubon front office was looking for to turn the team around.

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Power Cup, by Uncle Super Lotto

What would you do if you won a $15 million lottery jackpot? In 2012, one man in eastern Taiwan knew exactly what he wanted to do when he won NT$600 million (about $15 million). He donated about a quarter of the earnings to start a youth baseball tournament.

Growing up in a poor family, the lottery winner did not have the means to play baseball. With his winnings, he decided to donate $4 million toward establishing a national baseball tournament in Hualien to be held for at least 20 years. The donation went to a charitable trust, which disburses roughly $20,000 each year for the tournament. The anonymous donor was dubbed “Uncle Super Lotto,” and the tournament was named Power Cup.1

The tournament reached new heights in 2017, with 20 teams entering to vie for the NT$1 million (about $33,000) grand prize. To date, over 4,000 players have participated in the Hualien Power Cup, including nine MiLB players. It is a fixture not just in Hualien, but in Taiwanese youth baseball.

In its 13th year, the tournament appears to be going strong. From across the country, 22 teams entered the competition. Hualien has two host teams, but due to damages and disruptions caused by Typhoon Ragasa earlier this year,2 there are only about 25 sixth-grade players in the whole county.

Parent company advertising

Author and journalist Robert Whiting said in an interview, “If American baseball is a business, Japanese baseball is a parent company advertising.” The observation about Japanese baseball is certainly true of Taiwanese baseball too.

CTBC, the parent company of the CTBC Brothers, operates the Taiwan Lottery Company. Uncle Super Lotto’s donation went to a charitable trust administered by, of course, the CTBC Charity Foundation. In partnership with CTBC and the Hualien County government, the foundation established what is officially named the Hualien Taiwan Lottery Power Cup, a case in point of a parent company advertising, for both Taiwan Lottery and its Power / Super Lotto game. Uncle Super Lotto remains nameless, but even his nickname became a branding opportunity.3

Whereas American little leagues or other youth tournaments are typically organized or sponsored by specialized baseball businesses,4 their Taiwanese counterparts are often packaged by large conglomerates then broadcast or otherwise covered nationally. It is a structural difference, and the focus notably shifts from developing player value (for recruiters, parents, or players themselves) to maximizing brand exposure.

While funding is crucial to youth baseball regardless of what form in comes in, it is worth contemplating an alternative mode. What would it look like if a lottery jackpot winner, or independently wealthy individual, funded a business venture centered around youth baseball? Rather than letting a conglomerate market itself in the name of baseball, an upstart can attract a new generation of parents, players, and fans and grow the pie.

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Other news

JABA Select defeated NPB Select 5-2 to win the Asia Winter Baseball League championship game in Chiayi. Guardians slugger and former MLB infielder Yu Chang announced his intention to play for Team Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic.5 The Rakuten Monkeys re-signed right-hander Pedro Fernández, 2025 CPBL wins and strikeout leader, to a two-year deal.

Established with aspirations of rivaling Japan’s Koshien tournaments,2 the Black Panther Banner is the premier high school national championship in Taiwan. Unlike Koshien, however, Black Panther features an extremely top-heavy field: Ping-Jen has been the perennial favorite, with Ku-Pao Home Economics and Kao-Yuan Vocational being the only two other schools that have won the championship.

Ping-Jen was the runner-up for three of the five years in which it did not win the national championship, losing to Ku-Pao twice, who has won a total of four times.

All-star alumni

Ping-Jen has produced countless top-tier Taiwanese players over the years, many of whom are active in MiLB, NPB, and CPBL. Detroit Tigers prospect infielder Hao-Yu Lee, Los Angeles Dodgers prospect outfielder Ching-Hsien Ko, San Francisco Giants prospect right-hander Nien-Hsi Yang, and Athletics prospect left-hander Wei-En Lin all attended Ping-Jen.

Jo-Hsi Hsu, who recently signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to a three-year, USD 9.6 million deal, was a 2019 graduate. Nippon-Ham Fighters right-hander Ruei-Yang Gu Lin graduated in 2018. Both pitchers were posted to NPB teams in high-profile offseason signings in international free agency.

Domestically, TSG Hawks catcher Jhao-Yuan Jhang, Rakuten Monkeys infielder Li Lin, CTBC Brothers star shortstop Kun-Yu Chiang are among the many players hailing from Ping-Jen.

Future stars to watch

If the past is any indication, several Ping-Jen future stars are likely to go pro within the next few years, with even a couple of them signing with NPB or MLB teams. To highlight just two:

• Yi-Che Tseng, RHP/OF: The two-way player batted .636 in the tournament. He has been dubbed the “Ohtani of Ping-Jen” and represented Taiwan in the U-15 Asian Baseball Championship in August.

• Chen-Lung Tsai, RHP: Named the all-tournament pitcher, Tsai delivered his first shutout win in the semifinal round against Kao-Yuan to help Ping-Jen clinch the title game berth. The senior reached 89.5 mph in that game and recorded a 93.8 mph fastball in September. In addition to the fastball, Tsai commands a slider, forkball, changeup, curveball, and sweeper in his deep arsenal. He has already expressed interest of pursuing baseball abroad.

The underdogs from Yilan

Lo-Tung Vocational, based in Yilan County on the northeastern coast of Taiwan, had its deepest tournament run in school history. It had never gone beyond the round of 32 before this year, so the second-place finish represented its best performance since joining the tournament in 2019.

Entering the final game, Ping-Jen was already the clear favorite after beating defending champion Ku-Pao in the round of 16. A close game in the semifinals against Kao-Yuan brought out a heroic performance from ace Chen-Lung Tsai, who completed a shutout and allowed just two hits.

Lo-Tung Vocational showed off its strong bats in the semifinals, scoring 11 runs on 13 hits against NTPEHS. But against Ping-Jen’s pitching staff, Lo-Tung’s offense was limited to a run. Despite the loss, Lo-Tung’s cinderella run this year has spurred momentum in Yilan County’s excitement for baseball.3

The future of Taiwanese baseball does not rest with the likes of Ping-Jen or Ku-Pao, the evil empires that are expected to win year after year. It rests with the underdogs who hold out hope and once in a while surprise themselves and the nation, and luckily there are still numerous benefactors who root for the underdog.4 Ultimately, the glorious possibility of David slaying Goliath is what keeps fans watching.

Other news

Former MLB and KBO southpaw Wei-Chung Wang, who entered free agency after being left off the Wei Chuan Dragons’ 60-man protected roster, is rumored to be considered by the KBO’s Lotte Giants. Shunsuke Suzuki has agreed to re-sign with Fubon Guardians after a couple of KBO teams attempted to poach him. The Taiwanese University Baseball League (UBL) is underway, and NTTU defeated powerhouse CCU 5-0, featuring junior left-hander Hung-Yen Wang’s 95-pitch Maddux shutout.

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Coming off the Premier12 championship in 2024, Taiwan’s first ever major international title at the adult level, fans have lofty expectations for their national team’s performance in the upcoming WBC. Taiwan’s deepest WBC run was in 2013, when they finished in 8th place.

With heavy reliance on Taiwanese players abroad expected in March, a look at potential MLB or NPB players or prospects who are likely to put on Team Taiwan uniforms is timely at this stage.

Top Major League and international prospects

1. Hao-Yu Lee, 2B/3B (Triple-A, Detroit Tigers), is the Tigers’ No. 6 prospect1 and a top 2B prospect in the league. The Tigers added him to their 40-man roster this month to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Lee batted .243/.342/.406 and hit a career-high 14 home runs with Toledo.

2. Jonathon Long, 1B (Triple-A, Chicago Cubs), is the Cubs’ No. 7 prospect and a top 1B prospect in the league. He had an excellent season, slashing .305/.404/.479 and hitting 20 home runs for Iowa, and was named the 2025 Cubs Minor League Player of the Year. Long’s mother is from Taiwan, and he expressed strong interest in representing Taiwan in the WBC during his meeting with CPBL officials in July.

3. Ruei-Yang Gu Lin, RHP (NPB, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters), had a shortened season due to injury, recording a 2-2 record and 34 strikeouts over 32.1 innings in his first NPB season. Prior to signing with the Fighters, Gu Lin was the 2024 CPBL MVP, recording a 1.66 ERA in 21 starts and 125 innings for the Uni-President Lions. He tops out at 97-98 mph with his four-seam fastball and has been developing a two-seamer in the past year. He has a decent forkball, but his effective curveball has gotten more usage this year.

4. Kai-Wei Teng, RHP (MLB, San Francisco Giants), was called up to the majors twice in the 2025 season and had some bright moments but also struggles on the mound. His above-average sweeper has gotten a lot more usage to become his primary and most effective pitch, but his 93-94 mph four-seamer still generates decent whiffs. He also features a curveball, sinker, and changeup in his repertoire. Teng struck out Shohei Ohtani twice in their first meeting in September.

5. Jo-Hsi Hsu, RHP (free agent), former Wei Chuan Dragons starter who filed for international free agency this offseason, is perhaps the most hyped Taiwanese pitcher currently. Unlike his home for next year, which is a hotly debated topic,2 his spot in Team Taiwan’s starting rotation is all but certain.

6. An-Ko Lin, OF (free agent), recently signed with the Saitama Seibu Lions to a two-year deal (with club option), becoming the third CPBL player in history to be posted to NPB. In 2025, he was No. 2 in batting average and No. 3 in home runs in Taiwan, and he will look to continue his success in Japan.

7. Yu-Min Lin, LHP (Triple-A, Arizona Diamondbacks), is the D-backs’ No. 20 prospect. His claim to fame was his start against Japan in the 2024 Premier12 title game, striking out three over four scoreless innings and giving up just a hit. He has a curveball that averages above 3,000 rpm.

8. Tsung-Che Cheng, SS (Triple-A, Pittsburgh Pirates), made a brief MLB stint in 2025 but was hitless in three games. His return to Triple-A was underwhelming offensively, hitting .209/.307/.271. Nonetheless, his speed and defense, plus experience at a high level of play, will most likely earn him a roster spot in March.

9. Stuart Fairchild, OF (free agent), played 28 games for the Atlanta Braves before being acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays in July. Fairchild, whose mother is from Taiwan, was one of three Taiwanese-American players targeted by the Taiwanese visiting delegation in July (the other two being Corbin Carroll and Jonathon Long) and has expressed his interest in representing Taiwan.

10. Po-Yu Chen, RHP (Triple-A, Pittsburgh Pirates) made some buzz early in the season at Double-A and was promoted to Triple-A, where he made three starts and held a 0.66 ERA. Prior to the season, he pitched for Team Taiwan and struck out four over three scoreless frames against South Africa in the WBC qualifiers.

Likely candidates and returners

11. Zhong-Ao Zhuang Chen, RHP (Double-A, Athletics). Registered as “Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang” in the MLB system, Zhuang Chen is the Athletics’ No. 29 prospect. He was added to the A’s 40-man roster earlier this month. He has confirmed his intention to play for Team Taiwan in the WBC.

12. Wei-En Lin, LHP (Double-A, Athletics), is the A’s No. 20 prospect. He rose through the ranks in his first season in the U.S., going from Single-A in April, to High-A in June, then finally to Double-A in September. At all three levels, he maintained a 10+ K/9. Earlier this year, he represented Taiwan in the WBC qualifiers and saw limited action against Spain and Nicaragua.

13. Chen-Wei Lin, RHP (Double-A, St. Louis Cardinals), is the Cardinals’ No. 17 prospect. He recorded the fastest pitch by a Taiwanese pitcher ever, clocked at 101 mph.

14. Tzu-Chen Sha, RHP (High-A, Athletics), is the A’s No. 30 prospect. After an underwhelming 2024 Single-A season with Stockton, Sha came back in 2025 with a fastball that gets up to 95 mph and confidence he gathered in the WBC qualifiers. He was promoted to High-A in June and continues to develop a more effective changeup, in addition to his fastball, two-seamer, and slider.

15. Yi-Lei Sun, RHP (NPB, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters), made his NPB major league debut this May and spent most of the season in the minor league or in a reliever role. He made two starts but struggled early in both, posting a 0-2 record for the year. Sun rose to the occasion in Taiwan’s pivotal WBC qualifier win over Spain, striking out two batters back-to-back to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam.

16. Lyle Lin, C (free agent), split his season between the A’s Double-A affiliate and the Atlantic League.

Interesting players to watch in MiLB

Other prospects that are eligible to play for Team Taiwan include:

• Wen-Hui Pan, RHP (Double-A, Philadelphia Phillies), Phillies’ No. 16 prospect3

• Hung-Leng Chang, RHP (High-A, Pittsburgh Pirates)

• Tyler Wilson, OF (High-A, New York Yankees)4

• Ching-Hsien Ko, OF (Single-A, Los Angeles Dodgers), Dodgers’ No. 10 prospect

• Sheng-En Lin, RHP/DH (Single-A, Cincinnati Reds), Reds’ No. 14 prospect

• Chia-Shi Shen, RHP (Single-A, Seattle Mariners), M’s No. 24 prospect

As widely expected, Wei Chuan Dragons right-hander Jo-Hsi Hsu declared international free agency at the conclusion of the 2025 CPBL season and reached an agreement with the Dragons to be posted. Now, where the 25-year-old “Son of the Dragon” ends up next year is a topic of great anticipation, anxiety, and excitement for Taiwanese fans.

To the evil empire?

Multiple sources have reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers, who just won the 2025 World Series, are interested in signing Jo-Hsi Hsu. If this happens, it will not only be the highest-profile free agent signing out of Taiwan in history, but also the first ever CPBL posting to MLB.

While the Dodgers have shown interest throughout the 2025 season, they were not the only ones. Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto, and at least seven other MLB teams also sent scouts or front office staff to games in Taiwan. A rotation at Oracle Park that includes both Hsu and Kai-Wei Teng would certainly be interesting, but the prospect of Shohei Ohtani’s team signing a Taiwanese pitcher has been the talk of the town.

The Dodgers are not the only “evil empire” interested in Hsu. NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who won this year’s Japan Series, are widely rumored to be targeting him as well. Hsu has visited the Hawks’ facilities and even had dinner with chairman Sadaharu Oh.

Hsu’s decision factors

Based on information that is already out there, it seems likely that he will be posted to NPB, but we will learn more in the next few weeks. There are a few major factors that can influence his decision:

1. Economics (advantage: NPB). It is widely understood that a contract with an NPB club will be more lucrative, at least in the short term. SoftBank is rumored to have prepared a JPY 1 billion (approximately USD 6.4 million) contract for three years, excluding performance incentives.1 The Dodgers, or any other MLB team, would likely sign Hsu as an international amateur free agent,2 meaning his contract would be capped by the team’s international bonus pool. If he plays in NPB for three years first, he will no longer be subject to the same bonus pool as a professional free agent.

2. Prestige (advantage: MLB). Although the Dodgers and SoftBank Hawks are top contenders in terms of prestige, as recent champions, the Dodgers clearly have the advantage of being an iconic franchise in baseball’s most prestigious league. The Roki Sasaki precedent shows that elite players are willing to forego higher pay for a chance to play in MLB. The prestige of MLB over NPB may well play a factor for other teams as well.

3. Culture and proximity (advantage: NPB). Taiwanese baseball is generally more similar to Japanese baseball, and the transition to an NPB team would be relatively easier. The proximity to home would be a significant consideration for his family as they prepare to move abroad.

4. Usage and role (advantage: NPB). Assuming Hsu retains his starter role with the new MLB or NPB team, the typical MLB five-man rotation allows four or five days of rest between starts, whereas NPB starters, like in the CPBL, typically pitch once a week with five or six days of rest between. Furthermore, MLB teams are likelier to see Jo-Hsi Hsu as a reliever, whereas he will probably fit in most NPB starting rotations within a few months.

What does this mean for Team Taiwan?

Perhaps the most important question for fans, besides which NPB or MLB bandwagon they will collectively jump on, is Jo-Hsi Hsu’s availability for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2026. He is undoubtedly listed on the national team’s unpublished 43-man roster and has confirmed his commitment to play for Team Taiwan:

I received the inquiry from the national team. I remain highly willing.

However, whether or not he gets to play in March may not be completely up to him. Lyle Lin, who was on Taiwan’s championship team in the 2024 Premier12, withdrew from the national team for the WBC qualifier after the Athletics signed him and invited him to spring training camp.3 Hsu may be restricted by his new team from playing in the WBC or other international tournaments.

Other news

An-Ko Lin, Uni-President Lions slugger and the other international free agent this offseason, signed a two-year deal (plus club option) with NPB’s Seibu Lions. Taiwanese pitcher Chen-Yun Chang went undrafted in the inaugural draft of the Women’s Pro Baseball League (former CTBC Brothers hitting coach Sarah Edwards was drafted by Los Angeles). The Black Panther national high school tournament enters the quarterfinals stage this week, followed by semifinals and the championship game this weekend.