There’s only 1 Taiwanese 陳偉殷 (Chen Wei-Yin) made the 2017 MLB 25-man roster on the opening day. However, the 6 season big league LHP (His 2nd seasons with the Marlins) wouldn’t feel bored as he gets to meet with fellow Taiwanese RHP during his home games against the Tampa Bay Rays. 胡智為 (Hu Chi-Wei), who was recently called up from Triple-A to fill the roster due to Rays pitcher Tommy Hunter has been put on the 10-day DL.
When asked in an interview, Hu was thrilled and mentioned after years of hard work made it to the big league is like a dream come true.
Newcomer @cwhu1993 on getting that first call to The Show.
"It's a dream come true. This is why I'm working hard." pic.twitter.com/ve4iHbBnYl
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 23, 2017
Hu didn’t wait long for his MLB debut. During the series between Rays and Orioles on April 24th, Hu made a relief appearance in the 8th and pitched a 1-2-3 inning (5 strikes, 4 balls, 1GO, 2FO) with his fastball clocking at 95mph.
Video of Hu Chih-Wei MLB debut 20170424
Last word from Dawei
Fans from Taiwan are hoping to see whether the two Taiwanese pitchers could meet during Chen’s start on May 1st. Though Chen had a quality start, 6IP, 2ER, and a season high 7SO. Unfortunately, Hu did not made the appearance that game.
On the 2nd of May, the Rays optioned Hu to AAA Durhambulls. Though its was short call-up to the show, I believe the 10-day tour at the big league will definitely motivate and inspire this young kid. Maybe in 2018, or even in the 2017 September call up, we could see Hu once again in the MLB. I hope for the day to see Hu vs Chen as the starting pitchers in the upcoming future.
If you want more information about Taiwanese players in both MLB and MiLB, you could refer to this article for the complete Taiwanese overseas list.