Fireballer Pan Wen-Hui Joins Phillies
On January 14, the Philadelphia Phillies signed 20-year-old Taiwanese fireballer 潘文輝 (Pan Wen-Hui) as an international free agent. According to the media, a signing press conference is scheduled on January 16.
According to Liberty Sports, the signing bonus is reportedly around 350,000 USD. The Phillies also provide additional tuition allowance (educational expenses), bringing the total package close to 420,000 USD.
At the signing press conference, the Phillies’ scout told UDN that Pan Wen-Hui is set to depart for the Phillies training facility in the Dominican Republic on January 21. After that, he will report to Florida.
20-year-old 潘文輝 (Pan Wen-Hui) is officially a member of the Philadelphia Phillies family! (📷 via Vamos Sports).
At the press conference, Pan revealed that he hopes to reach MLB within 5 years.
The signing bonus is 350K USD with $70K tuition allowance (total $420K). #MLBTW pic.twitter.com/fmIEhW74Ab
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) January 16, 2023
Pan Wen-Hui stands 188 cm (6’2) and throws an overpowering fastball that tops out at 158 kph (98.2 mph). As for the breaking pitches, he has a slider, curveball, changeup and an above-average splitter in his repertoire. But like a lot of young amateur pitchers, he has some command issues.
The young Taiwanese fireballer came under the media spotlight in 2019 when he threw 155 kph (96.4 mph) in a high school tournament at the age of 16. Since then, whenever Pan Wen-Hui is on the mound, the stands would be packed with scouts from MLB, NPB and CPBL.
Kainan University's 潘文輝 (Pan Wen-Hui) was clocked throwing a 157 kph (97.6 mph) fastball last night. The 19-year-old fireballer also throws a 123 kph forkball and a 117 kph curveball. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VOlpNDSa2u
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) January 5, 2022
Over the years, Pan Wen-Hui represented Taiwan as a member of the U-18 and U-23 national teams.
His most recent international outing was the 2021 U-23 World Cup, where he struck out five over four scoreless innings of relief work against the batters from Mexico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Colombia. His fastball velocity reached 97 mph in that tournament.
In 2022, the 19-year-old flamethrower broke his personal record by throwing 158 kph (98.2 mph) in a university tournament.
Team Taiwan's 19-year-old RHP 潘文輝 (Pan Wen-Hui) reached 97 mph (156 kph) with his fastball at the #WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup. 🧙♂️🔥 pic.twitter.com/wIgX6TNBAU
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) September 27, 2021
[Taiwan U-18] 16-year-old 潘文輝 (Pan Wen-Hui) pitched against Team USA in a warm up game. 152kph fastball, 134kph splitter, 117kph curveball. Pan's fastball tops out at 155kph (~96mph) #TWHSBaseball pic.twitter.com/OQvJ2Lp0Ds
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) August 27, 2019