Pirates Signed 17-Year-Old Cheng Tsung-Che
A few weeks ago we reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates were close to signing 鄭宗哲 (Cheng Tsung-Che / Zheng Zong-Zhe). On July 10, the Pirates have officially signed the 17-year-old high school shortstop for $380,000 USD with $60,000 in educational expenses.
Notes: In our previous blog post, we used the name “Zheng Zong-Zhe” as per his Facebook page. There are four different ways to romanised Taiwanese name. Cheng Tsung-Che is using the Wade Giles system.
It turns out the Pirates were not the only teams pursuing Cheng Tsung-Che. There were at least two other MLB organisation offered a contract to Cheng. The amount said to be around $300,000 USD.
“The Pirates has shown the most initiative during the signing process”, said Cheng Tsung-Che. “They told me the organisation would do their best to develop me as a player.”
“It is a dream come true to play professional baseball in the United States. I look forward to competing and learning with players from all over the world.”
Hitting and fielding highlight of 17-year-old 鄭宗哲 (Zheng Zong-Zhe) who's reportedly close to signing with the Pirates. #MLBTW #TWHSBaseball (?via CPBL Analyst) pic.twitter.com/IgKRrLk0ea
— CPBL STATS (@GOCPBL) June 29, 2019
Taiwanese in Pittsburgh Pirates’ Organisation
With Cheng Tsung-Che signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he will be the tenth Taiwanese that join the Pirates’ organisation since 2009.
| NAME | YEAR | Signing Bonus | Highest Level | Current Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鄭錡鴻 (Cheng Chi-Hung | 2009 | $500,000 (Blue Jays 2003) | Single A (Adv) | CPBL (Brothers) |
| 洪聖欽 (Hong Sheng-Cin) | 2009 | $50,000 | Rookie | CPBL (Monkeys) |
| 徐志維 (Hsu Chih-Wei) | 2009 | $50,000 | Rookie | - |
| 陳鏞基 (Chen Yung-Chi) | 2010 | $250,000 (Mariners 2004) | Triple A | CPBL (Uni-Lions) |
| 紀品宏 (Chi Ping-Hung) | 2009 | $80,000 | Rookie | CPBL (Monkeys) |
| 王維中 (Wang Wei-Chung) | 2011 | $50,000 | MLB | MLB (Athletics) |
| 陽耀勳 (Yang Yao-Hsun) | 2014 | $100,000 | Double A | CPBL (Monkeys) |
| 張進德 (Jhang Jin-De) | 2011 | $300,000 | Triple A | Double A (Giants) |
| 廖任磊 (Liao Jen-Lei) | 2014 | ? | Rookie | NPB (Lions) |
| 鄭宗哲 (Cheng Tsung-Che) | 2019 | $380,000 | Unassigned | Unassigned |