Po-Yu Chen

PO-YU CHEN, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: October 2, 2001
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 187
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Signed: Int’l Free Agent, 2020, Pittsburgh Pirates
How Acquired: International Free Agent
Country: Taiwan
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE
Chen was a prominent signing for the Pirates, as the bonus shows.  When he was signed, he threw in the low-90s with a very good curve and splitter.  He also throws a slider and cutter.  Chen was advanced for a pitcher his age and has generally shown very good command as a pro.  There may be some question about his projection.  By 2022, he was throwing 93-94 at least some of the time, but his velocity has been up and down.  His fastball has been too hittable so far, so that’s the main issue for him.

2021
R:  2-0-0, 0.69 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 26.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 10.0 K/9
A:  1-1-0, 5.63 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 16.0 IP, 6.8 BB/9, 8.4 K/9

Chen made six starts in the FCL and his advanced command was too much for the hitters there.  He didn’t walk a batter, as he evidently had great success getting batters to hit, or miss, his pitch.  The Pirates moved him up to Bradenton and he had a lot more trouble.  He threw seven shutout innings in one start, but struggled in his other three.  The batters at that level were better able to lay off pitches just out of the strike zone.  He may have been tired, also, as his velocity with Bradenton was mostly 89-91 after reportedly being up as high as 95 in the FCL.

2022
A:  4-8-0, 4.58 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 98.1 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 9.4 K/9

Chen spent the entire season in the Bradenton rotation.  He had a puzzling season, as he more or less alternated starts in which he dominated with ones in which he got hit around a good bit.  He generally threw strikes and missed a good number of bats.  Opponents put up an OPS of .678 against him, which was just under the league average of .687.

Chen’s inconsistency may be a matter of him having only a limited margin of error with his command.  With its extremely HR-prone ballpark, Greensboro will be an interesting challenge.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2023: Minor League Contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $1,000,000
MiLB Debut: 2021
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2027
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: 2024
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
October 7, 2020: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.