QuLin Chen-Wei Signs With St. Louis Cardinals
After turning down multiple offers from several MLB organisations in the past few years, the hard-throwing right-hander Lin Chen-Wei will finally begin his professional career in the MLB system.
On July 3, the St. Louis Cardinals announced the signing of 21-year-old university pitcher 林振瑋 (Lin Chen-Wei) as an international free agent. It is worth mentioning that Lin Chen-Wei is the first player that the Cardinals signed out of Taiwan in their franchise history.
Although the Cardinals did not mention the signing bonus in the press release, according to ETtoday’s exclusive on July 2, the contract is around 500,000 USD. There is also an additional 40,000 USD in tuition allowance for Lin.
“We are excited to welcome Chen-Wei Lin to the St. Louis Cardinals organisation as the first player the team has ever signed out of Taiwan,” said Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak. “The Cardinals are continually scouting all regions of the globe for talented individuals that can help make our organisation better. Chen-Wei is someone we feel has intriguing potential with the ability to develop into a future big leaguer.”
“Chen-Wei Lin possesses an explosive fastball to go along with his projectable physical attributes and impressive athleticism,” stated Cardinals’ Special Assistant to the GM, Matt Slater. “He is also the type of individual whose overall makeup showed well in our evaluations.”
“Always believe in yourself. The sky is the limit. I will see you in the Major League in three years!” said former Los Angeles Dodgers Kuo Hong-Chih.
I FEEL THE NEED, THE NEED FOR SPEED! 🔥
Culture University's 21-year-old right-hander 林振瑋 (Lin Chen-Wei) reached 160 kph (99.5 mph) with his fastball today.
Lin Chen-Wei hurled 7 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts. His final pitch (#92) was clocked at 157 kph (97.6 mph). pic.twitter.com/6l6yL8TM1v
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) January 3, 2023
Quick Profile on Lin Chen-Wei
Lin Chen-Wei, the nephew of former MLB All-Star Kuo Hong-Chih, has garnered media attention in recent years due to his towering height of 203 cm (6’7 ft), which is unusual for baseball players in Taiwan.
Although his command isn’t always on point, Lin Chen-Wei makes up for his shortcoming with an overpowering fastball that tops out at 160 kph (99.5 mph). In terms of breaking pitches, Lin throws a changeup, slider, splitter and sinker.
U-23 Baseball World Cup
Team Taiwan's 林振瑋 (Lin Chen-Wei) was clocked throwing 157 kph (97.6 mph). The stadium gun registered that pitch at 159 kph.
Scouts from the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Athletics, Pirates, Dodgers, Mets, Giants were in attendance last night#WBSC #U23WorldCup pic.twitter.com/7A7rPXyzf4
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) October 16, 2022
20-year-old university RHP 林振瑋 (Lin Chen-Wei) in action today: 157kph (97.6mph) fastball, 128kph slider, 147kph 2-seamer. pic.twitter.com/k6KBsAFoFl
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) January 2, 2022
Team Taiwan's 林振瑋 (Lin Chen-Wei) reached 95 mph (153 kph) with his fastball at the #WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup. 🔥
Fun fact, Lin Chen-Wei is the nephew of former MLB All-Star Hong-Chih Kuo. The 19-year-old RHP stands 203 cm and weights 87 kg. pic.twitter.com/qYkPA8is01
— CPBL STATS – ♥️ #95, Mina (@GOCPBL) September 27, 2021