CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #282
Fubon Guardians News: Stephen Woods Jr
On July 5, the Long Island Ducks announced on its social media that the Fubon Guardians of the CPBL have purchased the contract of Stephen Woods Jr from the Atlantic League. According to the Guardians, Stephen Woods Jr. is set to arrive in Taiwan next week.
At a quick glance, Taiwanese fans might not recognise this name, but they definitely have seen Stephen Woods Jr in action before, as he was in Taiwan earlier this year, representing Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
The 28-year-old American right-hander pitched four innings and gave up three runs against Team Taiwan. But apart from surrendering that game-tying home run to Yu Chang, Stephen Woods Jr actually pitched reasonably well against the Taiwanese lineup.
Team Taiwan's 張育成 (Yu Chang) goes opposite field for a game-tying 2-run shot! 🫡 #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/2IOafHr9Hr
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) March 10, 2023
Stephen Woods Jr. began his professional career in 2016 with the San Francisco Giants system. Over the years, he spent most of his time in Double-A and had a brief stint in Triple-A.
After leaving the MLB system, he joined the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. Prior to his signing with the Fubon Guardians, he had a 3.77 ERA and 1.49 WHIP over 11 starts and 59.2 innings.
With the signing of Stephen Woods Jr, the Fubon Guardians currently have Enderson Franco, Tanner Anderson, and Matthew Kent as their foreign pitchers.
Further Readings
Foreign players comes and goes, therefore we compiled a foreign players tracker to keep track of all the foreign players signing for the 2023 CPBL season.
Woods appears to have good stuff, but there is some question about his command.