Pirates Sign Two From Taiwan

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed two players from Taiwan, according to Taiwan Baseball.  The Pirates added catcher Chin-De Chang and left handed pitcher Wei-Chung Wang.

Chang is 5′ 10″, 154 pounds, and is a left handed hitter.  He’s one of the top prospects in Taiwan, with excellent bat speed, and power from the left side. He has a strong arm, which makes him ideal as a catcher.  It was speculated that it would take $150 K to sign him.

Wang is 6′ 1″, 170 pounds, and has touched 88 MPH with his fastball.  He’s got some projectability, and shows an above average changeup at times.  It was rumored that his asking price was $300 K.

These aren’t the first players signed out of Taiwan by the Pirates.  Pittsburgh signed Sheng-Cin Hong, Chi-Wei Hsu, and Ping-Hong Chi out of Taiwan in 2009.  Only Chi remains with the organization.