In an effort to defend their 2010 World Title, the 2012 junior national team has been selected upon completion of the Yu-Shan Cup.  The IBAF event will take place in South Korea from 8/30 till 9/8.

Pitchers (7):
1)Jung-Hung Sen  - 18; 180 cm; 76 kg; T:R  (2012 Yu-Shan Cup MVP; tops out at 149 kph)
2)Cheng-Hsien Lin  - 16; 180 cm; 78 kg;  T:L
3)Hsiang-Hao Yang - 18; 182 cm, 75 kg; T:R
4)Sheng-Hong Liu - 18; 172 cm; 60 kg; T:R  (2012 Yu-Shan Cup top pitcher award)
5)Hsin-Chi Hong - 18; 183 cm; 78 kg; T:R
6)Tzu-Peng Huang - 18; 182 cm; 72 kg; T:R
7)Ren-He Tseng - 17; 185 cm, 90 kg; T:R (On the 2011 junior NT; tops out at 152 kph)

Catchers (3):
1)Joseph Chen  - 16; 180 cm; 74 kg; B:R - T:R
2)Chun-Hsiang Chan - 18; 173 cm; 75 kg; B:R - T:R  (2012 Yu-Shan Cup top catcher award)
3)Yi-Che Lin - 18; 172 cm; 73 kg; B:R - T:R  (On the 2011 Palomino World Series team - #2)

Infielders (6):
1)Chih-Chieh Su - 17; 178 cm; 76 kg; B:L - T:R (2012 Yu-Shan Cup top 1B award, 2011 junior NT)
2)Tsung-Hsien Lee - 17; 176 cm; 74 kg; B:R - T:R (2012 Yu-Shan Cup top 3B, 2011 junior NT - had 2 HRs in tourney)
3)Chia-Wei Yang - 16; 176 cm; 74 kg; B:R - T:R
4)Yi-Hsuan Tsai - 18; 180 cm, 75 kg; B:R - T:R  (2012 Yu-Shan Cup top SS)
5)Cheng-Tang Wang - 16; 173 cm, 73 kg; B:L - T:R
6)Tzu-Wei Lin - 18; 175 cm; 70 kg; B:L - T:R (MLB bound?)

Outfielders (4):
1)Yu-Ping Sen - 17; 180 cm, 74 kg; B:L - T:L (2012 Yu-Shan Cup top OF)
2)Yu-Ning Tsao - 18; 178 cm, 74 kg; B:R - T:R (2012 Yu-Shan Cup top OF)
3)Yu-Ming Chen - 17; 172 cm; 79 kg; B:L - T:R
4)Chia-Kai Liu - 18; 183 cm; 76 kg; B:L - T:L

2009 AAA NT
PITCHERS (6):
1)Tien-Ting Lee (Tainan City)
2)Cheng-Han Tsai (Tainan City)
3)Sheng-Nan Chen (Kaohsiung County)
4)Kuo-Hua Lo (Kaoshiung City)
5)Yao-Lin Wang (Kaoshiung City)
6)Kao-Chen Chu (Taitung County)

CATCHERS (3):
1)Cheng-Ming Chen (Tainan City)
2)Shih-Hao Liu (Taichung City)
3)Shao-Ming Ke (Ko) (Taoyuan County)

INFIELDERS (5):
1)Fu-Lin Kuo (Tainan City)
2)Ping-Chieh Chen (Tainan City)
3)Chien-Ting Feng (Tainan City)
4)Yu-Jen Chen (Kaohsiung City)
5)Yu-Te He (Ho) (Yilan County)

OUTFIELDERS (4):
1)Keng-Hao Chang (Tainan City)
2)Tien-Wei Wang (Taipei City)
3)Tai-Yan Kuo (Taoyuan County)
4)Chih-Tang Pan (Taoyuan County)

Player locale breakdown (and corresponding finish in the Yu-Shan Cup):
7 - Tainan City (1)
3 - Kaohsiung City (2)
3 - Taoyuan County (3)
1 - Taitung County (4)
1 - Kaohsiung County (5)
1 - Yilan County (6)
1 - Taichung City (7)
1 - Taipei City (8)




Amateur:
*UDN.com is reporting that the Chicago Cubs offered San-Hsin staff ace Yao-Lin Wang $250 K, a figure pretty close to the rumored $260 K offer from the Cubs. The Twins are also rumored to have offered $250 K. *Edited

*Nan-Ying speedster Ping-Chieh Chen is rumored to have a few offers of around $300 K.

*The New York Yankees are still pursuing Gao-Nong slugger Wei-Da Su.

*NT News:
The "Blue" squad defeated the "White" squad 9-2 on Monday. La New Bears minor leaguer Hung-Yu Lin cracked a 2-run home run (2-4, 3B, HR, 3 RBI) to lead the way for the blue squad.
Teammates - Bulls farmhand Jui-Mu Chen was 2-3 with 2 triples and 2 RBI, while Yen-Feng Lin threw 1 scoreless inning for the blue squad.
*UPDATED


MILB:
AAA - CL Hu 0-4 (8th inning)

AA - CJ Lo 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB's

A+ - CH Chiang 0-4 / CH Lin 1-3

A+ - KH Lo 1-1 (4th inning)


*Former Phillies farmhand Yen-Feng Lin is hoping to follow CH Cheng's path back to the US. Lin will work out for the Tigers, Pirates, Indians, and Twins.
*UPDATED




CPBL Standings:

Team	W	D	L	GB	E	WP
Lions	28	2	19	--	--	0.596
Bears	26	1	21	2	10	0.553
Bulls	23	2	24	5	7	0.489
Elephants	18	1	31	11	e	0.367

The junior NT is participating in the Warm up to the Worlds in Thunder Bay, Canada.
The team will:
1) take BP Monday, July 14th
2) play the Canadian junior NT on Tuesday, July 15th
3) play a DH on Wed., July 16th against the Canadian junior NT and a Thunder Bay select squad

Here's the NT's roster with the player's vital stats
(Jung-Hao Hsieh = Rong-Hao Hsieh on the blog)

In a follow up to a previous post on past junior NT's, here is a list of the kids on the 2003 junior NT that signed with MLB and NPB organizations (6):
2)CA Huang (Seattle Mariners)
4)YF Lin (Philadelphia Phillies)
6)KH Lo (Seattle Mariners)
This team was definitely top-heavy on pitching and despite the talented pitching depth, finished 2nd at the AAA Asian Championships.


In a follow up to an earlier story on CL Huang, Baseballfly reported that Huang was basically ready to sign with the Yomiuri Giants. However, after he signed with Jerry Sung, Huang changed his mind and is now set on playing baseball in the US.



MLB:
The Dodgers are down 6-0 to the Giants in the 4th inning. Hu is currently 0-1. Follow Hu's AB's here.


NPB:
The Fighters lost to the Marines 2-1. CS Yang was 0-3 with a RBI. Box


Whales 1 - Lions 0: Whales SP Fu-Te Ni pitched a CG shutout, allowing only 3 hits - to go along with 5 K's and 0 walks. Ni outdueled Pete Munro, who threw 8 innings and matched Ni pitch-for-pitch. PM allowed only 1 hit and 1 unearned run over 8 IP - he also had 7 K's and 1 walk allowed. TB was 0-3 and KC Kao was 1-3 for the Lions. Whales CF Jen-Chieh Hsu drove in the game's only run - he was 1-3.

*The class of 2001 (5) can be considered the most successful junior NT in recent times- in terms of individual achievement and the success of the team - the 2001 squad won the AAA Asian Championships. Members of the class of 2001 included CL Hu, YC Chen (Mariners), CL Lo (Rockies), CH Cheng (Blue Jays), & YH Yang (Hawks).

*The class of 2002 (5) was also very successful, winning a silver medal at the AAA World Championships. 2002 junior NT members included: CL Hu, WY Chen (Dragons), PH Keng (Blue Jays), SW Tseng (Indians), & CK Wu (Mariners).

*Unfortunately, I don't have the roster for the 2003 junior NT.

*From 2004, (5) junior NT members that went on to bigger and better things included: CH Chiang (Red Sox), TK Chiu (Reds), SA Kuo (Rockies), PY Lin (White Sox), & WW Lin (Twins). This team finished 5th at the World AAA Championships (with close losses to Japan led by Yu Darvish - who is now the best pitcher in the NPB and to the US)- although the outcome was somewhat influenced by Mother Nature.

*The 2005 junior NT's roster (3) included CH Chiang, CH Huang (Red Sox), and WW Lin. This team finished 3rd in the Asian AAA Championships.




With the success of Chin-Lung Hu (5'9") and David Eckstein (5'7"), it goes to show that size doesn't matter as long as you have the talent and the drive to succeed in MLB. The next undersized Taiwanese infielder to follow in Hu's footsteps is none other than Po-Ting Hsiao, a 5'8" ~ 150 pound SS/2B. The 18 year old (DOB 8/20/89) bats lefty and throws righty. Like Hu, the kid is an excellent defender (good range and a strong arm), has good speed, and has represented his country numerous times, playing on the 2007 Palomino World Series runner-up squad, the 2007 junior NT, the 2006 junior NT, and the 2005 youth NT. Obviously Hsiao will need to get stronger as he matures, but let's not forget that Hu's vitals were nearly identical (he was listed at 150 pounds) when he first came to the US. The biggest question mark facing Hsiao will be his bat (see above links vs team USA), although he did make solid contact when I saw him in action this past summer. It is important to note that Hsiao, as a 16 year old in the 2005 World Youth AA Championships, did collect 2 hits (he was 2-3 and scored the only run) against US starter Blake Beavan - the 2007 first round pick (17th overall) of the Texas Rangers.

Amateur:Chih-Lung Huang has had one helluva summer - after dominating at the Palomino World Series & throwing well in Joplin, MO, Huang can now add the 2007 Asian Junior Baseball Championship to his impressive resume. CL Huang threw a CG 1-hit shutout, K'd 12, and was clocked at 94-95 mph against South Korea (Taiwan won 1-0) on Wednesday to help Taiwan win the 2007 tourney in impressive fashion - in 5 games played the pitching staff was exceptional: 0 runs allowed, 3 hits total given up. With the win, Huang was able to eradicate memories of last year where he basically shut down the Korean bats in Cuba, but unfortunately ended up losing 1-0 to the eventual 2006 World Junior Baseball Champs. For his phenomenal effort, Huang was voted MVP of the tourney. Taiwan finished 3rd in the last Asian Junior Championships in 2005 and last won the Asian AAA Championships in 2001. Congrats to the kids on a job well done!!! As for what's next for Huang, he says he wants to play first in the NPB and then eventually give the US a shot.



A ss - Lowell lost 8-2. CH Lin was 2-4 with a double and his 2nd SB at Lowell - he was also CS. Box

A ss - Williamsport won 6-4. YF Lin gave up a run in 2/3 of an inning. Box

A - Wisky lost 6-3. KH Lo was 2-5, but was CS twice in his attempt at reaching the 30 SB mark - he also committed error #8 on the season. Box

AAA - Vegas is up 4-1 in the 5th. Hu is currently 1-2 with a RBI. Box



Hsu pitched the last 2/3 of the 10th inning as his club lost 6-3. Box

Wei-Chu Lin has an inflamed right shoulder and will be out for a week to 10 days.







Nice read on Ray Chang from Scout.com

At the Asian AAA Championships, Taiwan shutout Hong Kong 18-0 as the two big guns: Kuo-Lung Lo and Chia-Chu Chen got untracked offensively. The #4 and 5 hitters in the lineup collected 5 hits between the two of them. Lo had an outstanding game, rapping out 3 hits, cracking a HR, and had 3 SB's to lead the offensive onslaught. Chen also added a HR in the second inning. Taiwan will play Sri Lanka tomorrow before the big showdown with South Korea on Wednesday that will essentially decide who will be crowned the 2007 Asian Junior Champs.


R - Although the Reds lost 5-1 and Chiu earned the loss, TK pitched well - allowing 2 runs (none earned) on 3 hits over 3 innings - he had 3 K's and a walk. Box

R - Bristol won 6-4. PY Lin earned the victory, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits over 5 innings. Box

A - Greenville lost 7-5. Chiang was 2-3 with a double, a walk, and 3 RBI's - he did commit error #11. Box

A - Wisky won 6-4. KH Lo was 2-4 with a double, 2 RBI's, and his 28th SB on the season. Box
Lo will have 7 more games remaining to try and reach the 30 SB mark.

A+ - Kinston lost 3-0. Tseng was the hard luck loser despite allowing only 1 run on 1 hit over 5 innings - he also had 4 K's and 3 walks. Box

AA - Tulsa won 10-1. CL Lo pitched a gem - throwing a CG, allowing only 1 run on 6 hits - he also had 7 K's and 3 walks. Box

Other - The AFL rosters have been announced. Yung-Chi Chen is listed on the Peoria Javelinas roster.


Other: Trouble in Paradise - The big news going on in Taiwan is the suspension and/or termination of 5 starters from the Chinatrust Whales team who have been suspected of being involved in fixing games. The sad news is that some pretty big names are involved: team captain Han-Chou Tseng and Chun-Lin Chi had their contracts terminated. Three others including star SS Chang-Ming Cheng, Chien-Wei Chen, and speedster Kui-Yu Huang have been suspended pending the results of an investigation into the allegations. The worst case scenario would be that the scandal would force the Whales to shut down operations and fold. That would be disasterous to a financially strapped league (LA New Bears & Macoto Cobras have had financial woes in the past) whose image has been tarnished time and time again. Some are calling for the government to intervene in these dire times.

MLB:
CMW won his 15th game of the season against AL Central contender Detroit in impressive fashion. Wang threw 8 innings, allowed 2 runs (only 1 earned) on 5 hits - to go along with 6 K's and 2 walks. It was good to see Wang effectively utilize his sinker as he induced 12 GO's (vs. 6 FO's). After today's performance, Wang's ERA stands at 3.95. Box/Recap


Amateur:

Taiwan's game with Mexico at the LLWS was rained out and will now be made up tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM Pacific (on ESPN2). Here's a good read on the current LL rules regarding pitch count limitations.


The Taiwanese junior NT finished undefeated (6-0) in its brief stay in the US. The team beat the Canadian junior NT for the 3rd time yesterday 6-0. Read more here. Wen-Hao Cheng, who pitched yesterday, is one of several top prospects (including Yi-Hao Lin who signed with the Yomiuri Giants) who are in the Class of 2009.
1)8/25 vs. Japan
3)8/27 vs. Hong Kong
5)8/29 vs. South Korea


Other:
Chih-Chia Chang was clocked at a high of 85 mph yesterday in an exhibition match against the Taiwan Co-op Bank team. He threw 3 innings, allowed 3 hits, and struck out 3 with no walks. Chang is trying to make the cut for the NT.



The Tigers won 9-7. WC Lin was 1-4 with a walk. Box

Seibu lost 6-0. After being recalled to the parent club, MC Hsu was impressive, allowing no runs in 2.2 relief innings. Box

MLB:
CMW picked up win #14 today against the Detroit Tigers. Although he was inconsistent at times (see the 5th inning), it was a step in the right direction after his last two outings. Wang allowed 3 runs on 9 hits over 6 IP - he also had 6 K's, 2 walks, 2 WP's, and a balk. Box/Recap


Amateur:
*Taiwan defeated the Netherlands 11-1 on Sunday at the LLWS behind some solid hitting and pitching and a litany of errors committed by the other team. The two best pitchers on the team are also the two best batsmen on the team - Yi-Chuan Chen and Chao-Min Wang collected 5 of the team's 11 hits and drove in 4 of the runs collectively. Box Score/Game Recap/Post Game Interview
Taiwan will play Mexico at 5:00 PM Pacific tomorrow on ESPN2 - the winner of the game will advance to the International Semis - while the loser goes home. Because of LL rules, Chao-Min Wang will not be available tomorrow, so Yi-Chuan Chen is almost assured to start tomorrow's elimination game. JIAYO!


*Here's the Box Score, Game Log, and Game Recap from last night's game between the US and Taiwanese junior NT's. CC Chen continues to swing a hot bat this summer- he was the team's best hitter at the Palomino World Series. The ace of the PWS team Chih-Lung Huang made an appearance in last night's game. Although he wasn't dominant, keep in mind that he started and won against the Premier All-Stars on Thursday - where he allowed 1 run on 2 hits over 6 IP while K'ing 6. Rong-Hao Hsieh, the consensus top Taiwanese HS player in next year's graduating class, also appeared in yesterday's game and didn't fare that well - he reportedly topped out at 88 mph yesterday. However, Hsieh also threw on Thursday against the Canadian junior NT - where he allowed 1 run on 1 hit over 5 IP - while K'ing 5. The team played the Premier All-Star team today.


NPB:
The Tigers lost 3-0. WC Lin was 0-4. Box

The Fighters lost 2-0. Yang was 0-2 with 2 K's and an error. Box


US MINORS:
R - The Red Sox won 3-2 in a completion of a game started 8/14/07 - Box

A - Wisky lost 5-4 in game 1. Lo was 0-3. Box Wisky lost 3-1 in game 2. KH Lo had a walk as a PH. Box

A - Greenville lost 5-4. Chiang was 3-4 with a RBI at the plate. Box

AAA - Vegas won 6-3. Hu cracked HR #7 and was 2-5 with a RBI. Box

US MINORS:
R - CH Lin was back in action for the Red Sox as the team won 4-3. CH Lin was 1-4 with his 14th SB of the season. CH Huang was 1-4 with a double. Box

R - The Cubs and A's are scoreless in the 1st. Wen is currently 0-1. Box

A - Greenville lost 7-4. Chiang was 0-4. Box


NPB:
The Tigers won 6-0. WC Lin was 2-4 with a RBI. Box


Amateur:
The Taiwanese junior NT defeated Canada for a second time on Friday night. Taiwan won 6-2. Read more here.
Here's the line scores from Thursday night - taken from UDN.comThe Taiwanese junior NT is currently undefeated and played the US junior NT today.
Taiwan won the game 6-3 thanks to C Chia-Chu Chen's big night at the plate - he was 3-3 with a double and a HR. Read more here.*Updated

MLB:CMW earned a ND against the Orioles after leaving the game in the 7th with a 6-4 lead. Unfortunately for Wang, reliever R. Villone and closer M. Rivera would each give up a run to allow the Orioles to tie things up in the 9th. The Yankees would score a run in the bottom of the 9th to pull out a 7-6 win. CMW pitched 6 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits - he also allowed his first HR since June 28th - when he last faced the Orioles . Box/Recap

US MINORS:
R - The Red Sox won 3-2. CH Huang was 2-4. Box

A - Greenville won 4-2. Chiang was 0-3. Box

AAA - Vegas is down 3-0 in the third. Hu is currently 0-1. Box


1)Here are the final stats for the senior NT at the WPT. The team Cuba sent to the WPT was essentially their "B" team - although they did have a few players that played on their '06 WBC team (finished 2nd to Japan). Cuba will be sending their top squad to the World Cup that will be held later this year (November) in Taiwan. Three members of the Taiwanese NT made the All-Star team:
2)SS Han Lin
Here's a pic of the senior NT. Congrats on your second place finish! A big thank you to Cor for providing the 411 and pic for the WPT!



2)At the Pony League World Series, Taiwan lost 4-2 to Puerto Rico. Taiwan gets the night off tomorrow before it plays Chesterfield, VA one more time - this time in an elimination game on Wednesday. Should Taiwan win that game, it will face Puerto Rico in the division finals once again on Thursday.

3)Here is the schedule for the 2007 AAA - Junior Asian Baseball Championships to be held in Taichung, Taiwan:

-8/25 Taiwan vs. Japan

-8/26 Taiwan vs. Sri Lanka

-8/27 Taiwan vs. the Philippines

-8/28 Semifinals: Group A #1 vs. Group B #2/Group A #2 vs. Group B #1

-8/29 Championship & Consolation Games

Taiwan is in group A along with Japan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
Group B consists of South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
Based on the teams competing, Taiwan is almost guaranteed a spot in the semifinals.

The junior NT will be playing in a series of warm-up games here in the US. Taking place at Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin, Missouri, Taiwan will face:

1)the Canandian junior NT on 8/16 Thursday at 5 PM followed by a doubleheader against the Premier Baseball All-Star team at 7 PM the same day.

2)the Canadian junior NT on 8/17 Friday at 4 PM

3)the US junior NT(Blue/Red) on 8/18 Saturday at 7 PM

4)the Premier Baseball All-Star team on 8/19 Sunday at 2 PM

5)the Canadian junior NT on 8/20 Monday at 6 PM

Opportunities to catch the Taiwanese junior NT in the US are extremely rare - so if you are in the area, go out and support the kids. Here's some ticket info: "Tickets will be on sale at the gate. Adults are $5, students and seniors are $3 per day and children six and under are free. Tournament passes may also be purchased with adults prices at $25 and student and seniors at $20. For more information contact Trish Wynne or Martha Getz at 625-4789."
For more info go here.

Amateur:
1)Taiwan lost to Cuba 2-1 in the WPT. Taiwan was actually leading Cuba 1-0 over 6 innings, before Taiwanese SP Kai-Wen Cheng fatigued and allowed 2 runs in the 7th inning. Cheng pitched 7.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits - he also had 4 K's. Box Score

Taiwan plays the home team tomorrow.





NPB:
The Tigers won 6-5. WC Lin was 0-4. Box




Lions 7 - Bulls 1: Brian Reith picked up the win for the Lions, allowing 1 run on 5 hits over 7 IP. Chien-Fu Yang lost his 9th game of the season, giving up 6 runs over 5.2 innings. Lions RF Fu-Hao Liu picked up game MVP honors after hitting HR #7 on the season - he was 1-3 with 4 RBI's. Other Lions: Tilson Brito was 3-5 with a RBI while KC Kao was 2-5 with a RBI. For the Bulls, Tarzan was 1-4 with a RBI.

The final roster has been set - these 18 young men (selected out of 36 contestants) will represent Taiwan in the 2007 Asian Junior Baseball Championships. Expect to see a few of these names with a ML organization in the future.

Pitchers (7):
1)Hsien-Ting Peng
2)Rong-Hao Hsieh
3)Shih-Chieh Hsu
4)Wen-Hao Cheng
5)Hao-Chun Chiu
6)Chih-Lung Huang
7)Chia-Liang Hong

Catchers (2):
1)Chia-Chu Chen
2)Chun-Sheng Huang

Infielders (5):
1)Wei-Ting Lin
2)Po-Yi Wu
3)Chen-Yu Hong
4)Chih-Yuan Lian
5)Po-Ting Hsiao

Outfielders (4):
1)Shen-Kuo Feng
2)Yu-Hsin Chu
3)Jui-Hua Yang
4)Ming-Jen Hsieh

Pitchers (14)

In a previous post, we got a chance to see some of C.H. Lin's highlights from 2005.

Here are 2 more short clips of Lin in action from Feb. 2007 - during the most recent HS tournament in Taiwan.

Video 1 Link - Great Throw

Video 2 Link - Great Glove

There aren't too many HS CF's in the US (none in Taiwan) that have Lin's defensive abilities.

Sheng-An Kuo was the first signing of 2007. Who's next? Well, the top two prospects are both in HS, although one is playing in Japan.

1)The top signable HS prospect gathering significant attention in Taiwan is Nan-Ying Vocational HS (This Tainan HS baseball powerhouse has produced current Dodgers: Hong-Chih Kuo and Ching-Lung Hu) OF Che-Hsuan Lin. Rumor has it that multiple MLB teams, including the Cubs, Reds, Red Sox, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Twins have interest in Lin. Arguably the top positional player on the island in his graduating HS class, the kid is blessed with a lot of plus tools. The 18 year old's (DOB: 9/21/88) best attribute is his outstanding speed. He has run a 10.9 in the 100m dash. Not only is he athletic, but he has a plus arm, hits for average, has above average power, and is plus-plus defensively. The 6'0 - 185 pounder bats and throws righty.

Lin competed for the Taiwanese junior NT in 2006 - a team that finished 5th at the 22nd AAA World Junior Baseball Championships. During the competition, Lin appeared in 8 games, starting all games in CF. In 34 AB's, he hit .353, slugged .471, cracked a double, a HR, scored 7 runs, had 2 RBI's and 2 SB's. He also played flawless defense with no errors in the field.

Lin burst onto the world stage in 2000 when he hit a grand slam (one of only 9 in Bronco Series history) in the Bronco League World Series (for kids 11-12 years old). He alongside fellow junior NT and HS teammate Kai-Wen Cheng, led their Tainan team to the 2000 Pony League (Bronco Division) World Series Championship.

In a year with a weak crop of graduating HS pitchers, Lin is expected to be the second member of the 2006 junior NT to join a MLB organization (the first being OF Wang-Wei Lin of the Minnesota Twins). Due to current CTBA rules, don't expect Lin's signing to become official until after he graduates HS.

Here is a video link (courtesy of Heavenly Star) of Nan-Ying in action. Lin is #8 in the white uniform and is the leadoff hitter in the video.


C.H. Lin's HS teammate and fellow 2006 junior NT member Yen-Wen Kuo (SS) is another prospect who has garnered some attention. However as you can see from this video, Kuo def. needs to fill out his frame with a good weight training program. The 18 year old (DOB: 10/25/1988) stands 5'11" and weighs 168 pounds.

+'s for Kuo: soft hands, good range in the field, accurate arm, good bat control, plus runner
-'s for Kuo: lacks power, weak arm

2)The other top prospect is LHP Heng-Hsiao Kuo, who is currently playing HS baseball in Japan. Kuo who stands 5'11" has a max fastball of 92 mph. H.H. Kuo is following in the footsteps of Chung-Shou Yang by playing at his alma mater - Fukuoka Daiichi HS. Kuo is joined by 2 other Taiwanese kids currently playing in Fukuoka, Japan. Kuo is good enough to be considered a possible first round pick in next year's NPB HS draft.

*Updated*

Here's an update on the national HS baseball tourney going on in Taiwan. Some of the top senior performers at the tourney include:

Chun-Hsiu Chen (RHP)
clocked at a high of 88 mph/member of the '06 junior NT

With the success of Chien-Ming Wang, it seems as if more MLB teams are interested in getting a foothold in the Taiwanese market. The White Sox signed 20 year old pitching prospect Po-Yu Lin with a sign-on bonus of ~ $300,000. The righty stands 6 feet tall and weighs 216 pounds. Lin was a member of the 2004 junior NT that included fellow minor leaguers Chih-Hsien Chiang and Wang-Wei Lin. At the time, Lin was considered the ace of the staff. Lin's stats for the 2004 Junior World Championships can be found here. Lin gained additional exposure when he played this past summer for the Anchorage Bucs in the ABL. Lin appeared in 6 games for the Bucs and had a 3.03 ERA. Lin played alongside fellow Taiwanese prospect and current NT member - Cheng-Lung Lo.
In high school, Lin was clocked around 90 mph. See video footage here of Lin.

*First and foremost, per my buddy and the news out of Taiwan, the Minnesota Twins have entered into the Taiwanese market by signing 18 year old outfielder Wang-Wei Lin. Lin, whose twin brother is none other than Red Sox pitching prospect Wang-Yi Lin, was considered one of the top hitting prospects on the 2006 junior NT that competed recently in Cuba. Lin, who struggled a bit in Cuba, flashed some of his potential by cracking one of only 2 HR's for the Taiwanese team - not bad considering the kids used wooden bats. Lin is rumored to have received a signing bonus in the ballpark of around $90-100K.



*Next, the SoftBank Hawks and 18 year old Ping-Yen Lee have come to an agreement (sign-on bonus of around $335,000) and his signing was officially announced today. Lee will join fellow Taiwanese prospect, pitcher Yao-Hsun Yang on the nigun team. Despite standing only 5'9", Lee cranked out 53 HR's and hit above .500 over his 3 year HS career. Lee also has decent speed as he was clocked at 6.3 seconds over 50 meters.


*The final 24 man roster for the Intercontinental Cup coming up in November has been released:
Pitchers(10)
1)Chien-Fu Yang - CPBL
2)Wei-Lun Pan - CPBL
3)En-Yu Lin- CPBL
4)Yueh-Ping Lin - CPBL
5)Si-Yo Wu - CPBL
6)Po-Hsuan Keng - Blue Jays
7)Sung-Wei Tseng - Indians
8)Yao-Hsun Yang - Hawks
9)Chen-Chang Lee - Amateur
10)Ko-Chien Lin - Amateur
Catchers(3)
1)Chun-Chang Yeh - CPBL
2)Chih-Kang Kao - CPBL
3)Feng-Min Chen - CPBL
Infielders(6)
1)Chuan-Chia Wang - CPBL
2)Tai-Shan Chang - CPBL
3)Chih-Wei Shih - CPBL
4)Chih-Sheng Lin - CPBL
5)Yung-Chi Chen - Mariners
6)Chung-Shou Yang - Fighters
Outfielders(5)
1)Chin-Feng Chen - CPBL
2)Chia-Hsien Hsieh - CPBL
3)Chien-Ming Chang - CPBL
4)Yu-Hsien Ming - CPBL
5)Chih-Yao Chan - Amateur



*The finals for the CPBL is set: The LA New Bears will take on the President Lions in a 7 game series beginning October 21st. Should be interesting as some of the top domestic talent will be competing against one another - C.F. Chen, S.Y. Wu, W.L. Pan, and Y.P. Lin. Also the Chen brothers will be fighting for family bragging rights.