The Orioles are making a run at Japanese pitcher Chen Wei-Yin, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun:
Hearing #Orioles are “really working on” trying to sign Chen Wei-Yin 2. He’s younger (26), throws harder than Wada. Will cost more $ & yrs
— Dan Connolly (@danconnollysun) December 13, 2011
Here is a scouting report of Chen Wei-Yin from Patrick Newman of Frangraphs and NPBtracker:
Chen features NPB’s top lefty power arsenal, primarily throwing fastballs and sliders, while mixing in occasional forkballs and the random big, loopy curve. His fastball reaches 95 mph or so, but usually sits around 90-92, while his slider breaks in on righthanded batters and sits in the 85-87 range. Chen has been letting his pitches get up in the zone much more this season, and is showing more of a flyball tendency than he did last year.
Here are his stats from the Central League:
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | W | L | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 22 | Chunichi | JPCL | Fgn | 7 | 6 | 2.90 | 39 | 14 | 114.2 | 101 | 40 | 37 | 7 | 33 | 107 | 1.169 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 8.4 | 3.24 |
| 2009 | 23 | Chunichi | JPCL | Fgn | 8 | 4 | 1.54 | 24 | 23 | 164.0 | 113 | 32 | 28 | 10 | 40 | 146 | 0.933 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 8.0 | 3.65 |
| 2010 | 24 | Chunichi | JPCL | Fgn | 13 | 10 | 2.87 | 29 | 27 | 188.0 | 166 | 63 | 60 | 21 | 49 | 153 | 1.144 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 7.3 | 3.12 |
| 3 Seasons | 28 | 20 | 2.41 | 92 | 64 | 466.2 | 380 | 135 | 125 | 38 | 122 | 406 | 1.076 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 7.8 | 3.33 | ||||
