Lamigo Monkeys closer 陳禹勳 (Chen Yu-Hsun) have tied the CPBL record for most saves (21 saves) in the 1st half season. At the same time, Chen also have the opportunity to break the CPBL full season save record (35 saves).
Tied half season record for most saves
With save number 21 in the bag and 2 games left in the 1st half season. Chen Yu-Hssun have now tied the half season save record. Which was previously set by former Brother Elephants closer Ryan Cullen in 2010.
Ryan Cullen spent 4 seasons as the closer for the Brother Elephants between 2009-2012. With a compiled records of 1.60 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 70 saves, over 151.2 innings.
Ryan Cullen CPBL career stats
| YEAR | ERA | WHIP | G | SV | IP | H | K | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0.56 | 0.80 | 29 | 20 | 32.1 | 20 | 34 | 6 |
| 2010 | 1.95 | 0.93 | 58 | 34 | 78.1 | 62 | 78 | 11 |
| 2011 | 1.61 | 0.93 | 25 | 12 | 28 | 24 | 25 | 2 |
| 2012 | 2.08 | 1.85 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 3 |
| Total | 1.60 | 0.98 | 125 | 70 | 151.2 | 127 | 152 | 22 |
Cullen is best known for this incident below. Where he walked off the mound mid-game after feeling tightness in his left shoulder. He was then heavily criticised by the fans, coaches and the media for his lack of respect to the game. Cullen was immediately released by Brother Elephants management the next day.
Update – 05-July-2017
陳禹勳 (Chen Yu-Hsun) is officially in the record book by setting the CPBL record for most saves in half-season with save number 22.
#Lamigo 陳禹勳 (Chen Yu-Hsun) sets #CPBL record for most saves in half season with save #22. Read more about Chen here. https://t.co/Q70Akj9ZXC pic.twitter.com/iNSwErw5JY
— CPBL STATS (@GOCPBL) July 5, 2017
Full season record for most saves
The current CPBL record for most saves in a full season is by former Lamigo Monkeys Miguel Mejia in 2014. Mejia finished the season with the record of 1.24 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 35 saves over 58 innings. Just some fun fact, the young Chen Yu-Hsun was the rookie setup man back then.
After CPBL, Mejia briefly played in the NPB. He then went back to the United States and currently pitching in the Chicago Cubs system (Triple-A). In 2017, Mejia represented Puerto Rico in the WBC tournament along with Chinatrust Brothers pitcher Orlando Roman.
Nightmare week for Monkeys bullpen
Due to torrential rain, instead of finishing the 1st-half season on the 18th June, Monkeys will now have to play 11 games in 15 days. Below is the pitch count for Lamigo Monkeys bullpen so far in the make up week.
| Name | Name | Jul-02 | Jun-29 | Jun-28 | Jun-27 | Jun-25 | Jun-24 | Jun-23 | Jun-21 | Jun-20 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 陳禹勳 | Chen Yu-Hsun | 20 | 20 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 34 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 132 |
| 朱俊祥 | Chu Chun-Hsiang | 5 | 18 | 9 | 23 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 0 | 110 |
| 林柏佑 | Lin Po-Yu | 28 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 22 | 114 |
| 鄭承浩 | Cheng Cheng-Hao | 2 | 14 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 57 |
| 黃偉晟 | Huang Wei-Cheng | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 34 |
| 王躍霖 | Wang Yueh-Lin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 36 |
With setup man 王躍霖 (Wang Yueh-Lin) on the disabled list after being hit by a combacker on the 25th June. The Monkeys bullpen trio 陳禹勳 (Chen Yu-Hsun), 朱俊祥 (Chu Chun-Hsiang) & 林柏佑 (Lin Po-Yu) will have to take up even more responsibility.
Player profile for Chen Yu-Hsun
Amateur Day
陳禹勳 (Chen Yu-Hsun) was the ace for his high school, and just like most of the high school aces back in the day, he was overused. In 2007, after pitching 25 innings in 3 straight games, Chen’s arm finally had enough. At the age of 17, Chen Yu-Hsun had his first Tommy John surgery.
After 2 years of rehab, Chen once again returned to the mound but predominantly as a reliever in university tournament. During that time, Chen has been selected to be part of the national development squad to represent Taiwan in various low tier international tournaments.
Below is a clip of Chen Yu-Hsun as amateur, striking out MLB’s Erick Aybar & Drew Butera during the 2011 MLB Taiwan tour.
Signed with Lamigo Monkeys
Despite his injury history, Lamigo Monkeys have picked 陳禹勳 (Chen Yu-Hsun) in the 1st round of the 2013 draft, and signed him for 44K USD salary with 150K USD bonus.
Chen lived up the expectation and delivered a solid rookie season in 2014. Leading the league in number of holds (30 Holds) and game pitched (65 Games).
With his fastball topping at 152kph (95mph) and many different pitching deliveries to keep the batters off balance. Chen has been one of the most reliable reliever in Taiwan. In 2017, his salary is now 136K USD not counting bonus and incentive.
Chen Yu-Hsun Career Stats (04/July/2017)
| YEAR | ERA | WHIP | G | Hold | Save | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | ERA+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3.65 | 1.35 | 65 | 30 | 1 | 69 | 7.70 | 3.26 | 101.8 |
| 2015 | 4.91 | 1.64 | 45 | 9 | 4 | 40.1 | 7.59 | 3.79 | 104.2 |
| 2016 | 3.41 | 1.42 | 65 | 17 | 11 | 66 | 9.41 | 3.95 | 174.6 |
| 2017 | 1.75 | 1.14 | 35 | 3 | 21 | 36 | 11.00 | 3.50 | 276.0 |
There are a lot more on and off the field incidents to talk about when it comes to Chen Yu-Hsun. But let’s save that for another blog post. We’ll do a feature article on all things 陳禹勳 (Chen Yu-Husn)
Actually, you know what… Let’s leave it with a teaser : )
