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Pirates sign Taiwanese teenage pitcher Po-Yu Chen
The Pittsburgh Pirates confirmed on Wednesday that they've signed 19-year-old Taiwanese right-hander Po-Yu Chen.
Adam Berry of the official MLB website reported that Chen received a $1.25 million signing bonus from the Buccos.
Chen featured for the Taiwan national team that won the 2019 U-18 world championship. He pitched two innings and earned the save in his team's win over the United States in the competition's gold medal game.
“Po-Yu Chen is an exciting young pitching prospect who has been a prominent part of the Taiwanese national program and in International competition,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in a prepared statement.
"He has good size, moves well on the mound, and has a quality pitch mix with the ability to keep getting better.”
Chen is listed at 6-foot-2 and 187 pounds.
In August 2019, Sung Min Kim offered a scouting analysis on Chen for FanGraphs:
"A major league scout told me that, at this moment, Chen is the most 'complete package' among the pitching prospects out of Taiwan. Needless to say, a large group of major league scouts swarmed behind home plate to see Chen pitch against Panama.
"Even before his start, Chen’s delivery stood out to me during his bullpen. He has an easy, fast-tempo motion that was direct to home. He finished well towards the home plate, setting himself up for good fielding position in case of a batted ball. He also showed good tempo between his pitches and rarely seemed hesitant to throw any of his pitches."
The report ended:
"Even though he doesn’t have the most overpowering stuff, it’s easy to see why scouts are paying attention to Chen. He showed consistency for most of the game and an ability to throw strikes. And because of his lanky, projectable frame, he will probably add some velocity as he matures."
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