Pakistani Baseball Coming to Brooklyn

baseball-fever.com

Tomorrow morning at 12 pm Eastern, the Pakistani national baseball team will take the field against Team Brazil in the Brooklyn Qualifier for the World Baseball Classic. For those of you who don't follow international baseball, Brazil has been a solid team for the last couple years and have some major leaguers, like Yan Gomes and Andre Rienzo. Pakistan on the other hand, is almost non-existent on the baseball stage. 

Pakistan is a small Muslim nation to the west of India, with zero baseball history or any players currently playing professionally anywhere in the world, and they are certainly the underdog in the four-team pool consisting of them, Brazil, Israel and the Great Britain. All three other teams have players in affiliated ball, with Israel boasting multiple players with big league experience. WBC rules do not state that one needs to hold a passport or have citizenship in a country to play, only to be eligible for citizenship in that country, making most Jewish players allowed to play for Team Israel. Pakistan, unlike the other teams, have not had any experience on big stages. The highest level of play have been against college players from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan several years ago in the Asian Games, although they have not fared very well against them, usually losing by 10-run margins. However, their most recent games have come against other baseball nations with little presence, such as India, Indonesia, Iraq, and Iran, and Pakistan has absolutely destroyed them. Scores like 20-nothing have not been uncommon.

Despite having little experience and no affiliated players, the Pakistanis are not completely punchless. Outfielder Fazal Ur Rehman hit a homer against Iran, and Ubaid Ullah has been one of their best hitters against weaker teams, although he admittedly has struggled against better competition. One hitter who has kept up solid hitting against the better Asian teams is catcher Umair Imdad Bhatti, as well as Mohammed Sumair Zawar, whom the New York Times described as a "sparkplug", and infielder Jawar Ali won Defensive MVP of the 2015 Asian Games. On the pitching side, rumor has it that Ihsan Ullah can hit 90 mph, and he has held his own against Korea, Japan, and even threw a decent outing against China.

Of course, none of these players compare to the stateside experienced players of the other three teams, all from much well-off nations with more money and resources. Pakistan doesn't even have a true baseball stadium in the country! But if there is anything the Pakistanis have, it's drive, desire, and the will to win. Even though they have not fared well against some of the better Asian teams, they have continued to battle their way into the #23 ranked spot in the world by the International Baseball Federation. They might not have the most talent, they have always battled and never given up. They play with so much heart and wear their emotions on their sleeves, and who knows, they might even surprise some people this coming week.

Go Team Pakistan!

From CPBL English: Lamigo Monkeys' Wang Po Jung Is on a Path to Stardom

Way back in October of last year during the Taiwan Series, I promised readers that I would write a follow-up piece on CPBL rookie sensation Po-Jung Wang. Unfortunately, I never got around to doing this, but no worries! Below is a piece by Brandon DuBreuil of cpblenglish.com, a site dedicated to the Taiwanese pro league, about Wang's rise to stardom and his chances of playing in the States.
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By Brandon DuBreuil

If you’re a baseball fan outside of Taiwan, chances are you’ve never heard of Wang Po Jung (王柏融). If you have, you probably only know him as the “bat-flipping maniac” as Deadspin recently dubbed him. While he does have one of the finest bat flips in all of baseball, he’s also one of the best young position players that this small island nation has ever produced. He’s a superstar in the making and a name that baseball fans around the world need to know.

Wang plays for the Lamigo Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan, where, as a rookie, he’s doing some pretty amazing things in a talented league made up mostly of veterans and ex-MLBers.

Take this as a starter: At the end of the 2015 season, before even qualifying as a rookie, he hit nine home runs in 111 at-bats. He then proceeded to break a CPBL playoff record with 14 hits in a seven-game series, helping lead the Monkeys to the Taiwan Series and taking home the award for the most outstanding player of the playoffs.

This all happened in his first two months as a professional baseball player.

It’s time for the baseball world to meet Wang Po Jung, and what better way to introduce him than to let the native of Pingtung, Taiwan, tell you who he models his game after.

“Bryce Harper,” he said confidently through a translator before a game in June. “We’re both outfielders and left-handed hitters. Mike Trout, too, though he’s right-handed.”

It might seem outlandish, but to call Wang Po Jung the Bryce Harper of the CPBL wouldn’t be that much of a stretch. Besides the comparisons Wang made, they’re both roughly the same age and both put up ridiculous offensive numbers.

Before we go too far with superlatives and crazy stats, let’s rewind and take a look at how a 22-year-old earned the nickname “King Po Jung” before even playing an entire professional baseball season.

To continue reading this piece as well as other insightful articles on the CPBL, click here.

Bonus video: here is Wang going oppo-taco 13 rows deep (skip to 0:59). Crazy power to all fields

Diamonds in the Rough: Two Foreign Draftees with Intriguing Backgrounds

During the MLB Draft, those who have played against international competition for Team USA have always been held in high regard. These platers are the ones considered to have great pedigree and a history of success, whether it be for the 18U Team (Mickey Moniak, Blake Rutherford, Forrest Whitley) or the Collegiate National Team (Corey Ray, A.J. Puk). Usually in the draft, the majority of the players hail from the United States, with a few scattered from Puerto Rico and Canada. There have been a few scattered players that were born in other nations as well and moved to the States for high school ball, but rarely, if at all, have they represented their home countries in global competition. In this year's draft, two players were selected with international tournament experience in a different country, Lyle Lin of Taiwan and Stjin van der Meer of the Netherlands.

C Lyle Lin (Taiwan), Seattle Mariners

Lin, 2011 with Chinese Taipei/ twbsball.org

Lin, a 6'2'' 200 pound catcher, was selected as a 16th rounder out of Junipero Serra Catholic High School in Southern California. Ranked as one of the top prep catchers in SoCal after moving stateside before his sophomore year, the Arizona State commit is a sold defensive catcher who has great bat speed to boot. A true two way catcher headed to ASU, Lin has drawn comparisons to former big-leaguer Paul Lo Duca. He is not expected to sign with the Mariners this year and will likely re-enter 3 years from now after some development in college, hopefully with a higher draft position. Back in 2011, Lin caught and batted 6th for the Chinese Taipei team that was the runner-up in the Pony World Series to Laredo, Texas. In the championship game, in which Chinese Taipei lost 10-9 despite a rally and runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, Lin went 1-3 with a line drive single to left and reached twice on errors. Below is a video from Prospect Pipeline of his workout for the Area Code showcase.

SS Stijn van der Meer (the Netherlands), Houston Astros

van der Meer on Team Nederland, Honkballsite

Drafted out of Lamar University in the 34th round, van der Meer has the case to be the most interesting prospect in the entire draft class. Not only does he have the best, most exotic, and most consonant-excessive name, he also has the most unique background. Growing up in the Netherlands, which is not the most prospect-rich nation, van der Meer played baseball and was one of the top offensive producers in European tournaments, winning multiple awards along the way. Van der Meer was the MVP of the 2011 European Junior Championship, and the same year rated the #1 youth player in the nation. In 2012, at the age of just 19, he played in Netherlands top league, the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, against players 10-20 years older. (Some players get paid, some don't, which helped him retain NCAA eligibility.) He finished one shy for the league leader in hits, and started the All-Star Game as well. Following that season, he enrolled in college in the U.S, playing community college ball before transferring to Lamar, posting similar numbers as he did back home, usually with a batting average around .350 but with limited power. Every summer following college ball, he would return to his homeland and play Honkbal, and his gaudy stats are here on Baseball Reference. His career BB/K ratio is 38/20, and in college it is 57/28, so expect a patient hitter who will make contact as well. Also, because the Hoofdklasse is recognized as a major baseball organization, it is part of the baseball simulation game, OOTP 17, and with accurate rosters, the lanky shortstop even has his own profile! As seen on the OOTP Elite, Stijn is rated a 40 CON/25 POW, which is apparently good for a Honkbaler but non-prospect status for minor leaguers. But even if his incredible BB/K ratio doesn't hold up in pro ball, he can still strut his 4/1 consonant-to-vowel ratio in his first name, and as a Honkbaler named Stijn who played in a league called Hoofdklasse with his background, pedigree, and overall story, van der Meer should be a fun follow this summer and hopefully for years to come!

The Cuban Fearsome Foursome: Lazarito, Morejon, Ona, Gurriel Jr.

Cuba has long been a pipeline for major league talent, starting from the days of Orlando Hernandez to Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu. While teams are intrigued by professional members of the Serie Nacional, Cuba's top pro league, such as Yulieski Gurriel and Luis Yander La O, four young Cubans, all July 2 prospects, have some of the highest upsides out of any free agents on the market today.

Any international player who is under the age of 23 or has less than 5 years of experience in a foreign league are subject to the international bonus pool, which means teams are only allowed to spend a certain amount on a young player, as to avoid the complications of making 16 year olds too rich, too quick. These are called July 2 prospects, where each team is allowed to spend a certain amount of money each year after July 2, and exceeding these limits will face penalties. The four prospects covered in this article all fall under this category, and like many young players scouts love to dream on, the sky is the limit for each of them.

Lazaro Armenteros, OF (16 years old)

Given the one-named moniker "Lazarito", Armenteros has been hyped as a Cuban Bryce Harper, a 16 year old baseball prodigy who has great physical tools and a can't miss prospect in the big leagues. While there was much anticipation for his first workout, scouts came away with mixed feelings about Armenteros. He is very built, at 6'2'' 205 lbs, and with good foot speed as well, a 65 grade run tool. According to various sources, some scouts were very impressed with his arm yet some felt it was "fringy-average". Some scouts loved the power and bat speed yet some were concerned with his swing and bat path. Some scouts loved the muscular body size yet others were concerned with him filling out several years down the road. Yet he doesn't have much of a track record in Cuba either, except for the tournament in the video; he did not play on the 12U team that competed in Taiwan that starred Adrian Morejon, covered below, and fellow defectee Jonatan Machado. He was a relative unknown until his recent boom and media coverage. While Baseball America notes that he is one of the top prospects in his age group in Cuba, which is obvious, there is not much info on Armenteros at all, save for his .462 batting average at the above tournament. His swing looks choppy, with a weird stride and load, and if he really is "the Cuban Bryce Harper", I would a expect a lot more than what he does in the video against inferior baseball teams, where the outfielders ran terrible routes to his fly balls, and he seemed slightly overmatched in his swing against Venezuela, Chinese Taipei, and even Panama. He is a polarizing prospect, with some scouts, including a Japanese team willing to offer him $15 million to play in the NPB right now, loving his tools, to some seeing an underwhelming yet athletic body. While he is just 16 and there is plenty of time to iron out the kinks, someone will eventually bite the bullet and pay a premium price for what seems to be just an athletic, raw kid who oozes potential but has problems to fix.

Adrian Morejon, LHP (16 years old) (video)
     
Unlike Armenteros, Morejon is a known commodity to scouts. Named the Tournament MVP in the same tournament Armenteros starred in, Morejon has pitched in the 15U league, 15U national team, 18U league, Sub-23 league (development for players under 23), and even six starts as a 16 year old in the Serie Nacional against players 10-20 years older. The first exposure to scouts was in the 12U tournament held in 2011 in Taiwan, which I got to watch on a summer trip. He stood out from all the competition, not because of his size (he was pretty small back then, but is around 6 feet tall now) or velocity, but because of his advanced pitchability that was head and shoulders above all the other 12 year olds. I remember the way he mixed his pitches to near perfection, and I remember thinking, what a shame he is Cuban, he could be a sure-fire major leaguer if he was American. Sure enough, he has defected, and major league teams are chasing hard after Morejon, especially the Padres, who are rumored to be the favorites to sign him and Jorge Ona. Morejon throws a fastball in the high-80's, low 90's, capable of reaching 94, and he is just 16 with room to grow. His curveball has great depth, and his feel for it is well beyond his years. His arm action and mechanics are very clean and repeatable, which should help maintain his health and development of all his pitches. Expect him to gain velocity throughout the years, and while it may be an irrational prospect crush, I think that given time Adrian Morejon will become one of the top pitchers in all of baseball.

Jorge Ona, OF (19 years old)

Ona is favored to sign with the Padres with Morejon, and if he does, San Diego should have a powerful 5-tool outfielder on their hands. The 19 year old has power to all fields as well as a compact swing and cannon of an arm in right field. He was ranked by Baseball America as the #6 prospect in all of Cuba, even though he is so young and barely has any experience in the Serie Nacional. His swing is balanced, without any extra movements or quirky twitches like Armenteros, and in the video above it seems that he taps into his power more often. He is facing weaker competition (Ecuador, Guatemala), but Ona does exactly what you are supposed to do against weaker pitching: wait, sit on the right pitch, and drive it. At 19 years old, he is a bit better developed, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him start in A-ball once he comes stateside, and with his advanced hitting approach, quick swing and plus power, it wouldn't be surprising to see him climb quickly through a farm system.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr., UTIL (22 years old)

The oldest and most experienced of the bunch, Gurriel Jr. is the younger brother and defected with Cuban star Yulieski Gurriel, who will certainly sign a big major league contract. Lourdes, however, is just 22 and will be subject to bonus pool rules unless he waits until October to sign, when he turns 23, but by then he'd miss an entire season of development. Gurriel has an explosive swing, one that could eventually produce a .270/.330/.450 line in the majors. He has power to all fields, has progressed with the bat year by year, and shows a bit of patience as well. He is a fluid athlete with good speed, and he should be able to handle shortstop in the major leagues, although some scouts doubt it due to his size. He also has experience at every position other than pitcher and catcher, so an athlete who can play each position well and hit at the level Gurriel Jr. is capable of is quite rare. Throw in the fact the Lourdes can steal some bags as well, he is as close to being a complete package as any player in baseball. While the Ben Zobrist comparison gets thrown out to any utility guy who can hit/draw walks, Gurriel could provide defensive and offensive value that surpass what Zobrist could do in his prime. With his professional experience and age, especially if he waits until after his 23rd birthday to sign, expect Gurriel to initiate a huge bidding war, but for right now, like many other prospects, he is just a projectable dream of the future.

The Kenta Maeda Comparison

Los Angeles Dodgers/CBS Sports

Kenta Maeda, the Japanese ace who was posted by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, recently signed an 8-year contract with the Dodgers in hopes of taking his talents to the States. While many Dodger fans are hoping he becomes the second coming of Yu Darvish or Masahiro Tanaka, the small right-hander does not come with same kind of hype, pure stuff, or gaudy numbers that the other two posted in the NPB, the highest level of pro ball in Japan. Maeda throws a low-90's fastball, to go with a cutter, sinker, slider, curve and changeup, and according to this article by Fangraphs, his off-speed stuff could very well be some of the best in baseball. It compares the movement on his slider to Giants reliever Sergio Romo, who relies on the slider as his bread and butter for getting K's, and the changeup to Phillies starter Aaron Nola, a young up-and-comer whose changeup is his best pitch. While many other sources will continue throwing out big name comps for the unknown commodity of Kenta Maeda, we will focus on another small right-handed starter as the ultimate comparison: Cardinals right hander Mike Leake.

Standing in at 6'0'', 154 lbs, Maeda's size does not exactly strike fear in opposing batters, neither does he tower over his teammates on the mound. But as the game of baseball shows, you don't need to be a certain height or weight to succeed, and a prime example is the undersized Mike Leake, who is just 5'10'' 190 lbs himself. Without very much height, it is difficult to generate elite velocity, and many of the shorter right handed pitchers succeed off of their wide pitch arsenal, as Leake and Maeda both throw 6 different pitches. Leake's repertoire consists of a low 90's fastball that sits around 88-92, faster on the four-seamer and a touch slower on the cutter, which he threw much more often in 2015, as well as a two-seam sinker that he threw the most, which was somehow faster than the four-seam. His two breaking balls are the curveball and the slider, both of which are above-average pitches, with his changeup as the only offering that was rated below-average in 2015. None of these 6 pitches generate too many swings and misses, but Leake is a ground ball machine, with a career 1.74 GB/FB ratio but just a 6.1 K/9 that was as low as 5.6 last season. 

Maeda's contact profile is similar, with just a 7.4 K/9 in Japan that likely will not translate against better competition. His fastball sits in a similar range as Leake, in the high 80's, low 90's and scraping 94 at times, and he can make it sink or cut as well, all within the same range. His primary breaking ball is the slider, which he throws around 81 mph, which is also the same velocity that Leake throws his slider. Maeda also throws another variation of his slider that many call a slow curve since he throws it much slower (around 72 mph) but it really is just a looser version of the same pitch. However, his best offspeed pitch might be the changeup, which he recently developed. It sits in the low-to-mid 80's and has very good tail and drop on his arm-side. (Click on the square below, if it doesn't work it comes from this link to a tweet from Baseball America's Ben Badler.)

The two right-handers also show very similar deliveries. Even though Maeda has the traditional Asian delivery where he pauses in his balance point, both of them share a pretty good stride length, with Maeda's being a bit farther simply because of his height. Leake does a sort of semi-circle with his stride while Maeda is more of a direct kick, but they end up with the same result. Their arm angles are similar as well, as shown below.

Both pitchers commanded big contracts in the off season, with Leake signing for 5 years, $75 million with the Cardinals and Maeda an incentive-laden 8 year deal with the Dodgers. Leake is obviously the more known commodity, with the Cards paying for his durability, consistency, and his ability to post an ERA under 4 while eating up 180 quality innings. While Maeda does have injury concerns, he should profile similarly to Leake, being a solid #3/4 starter who can throw strikes and induce weak contact, and that is what Los Angeles will be hoping from their new Japanese sensation.

Chih-Sheng Lin to the Padres?

Lamigo Monkeys Official Website

According to multiple reliable Taiwanese media outlets, (here and here, both are in Chinese) the San Diego Padres have checked in on Taiwanese free agent slugger, face of the franchise, media sensation, and 2015 CPBL MVP Chih-Sheng Lin. Lin, soon to be 34 years old, is an infielder who has been a top 5 player in the CPBL (the highest-level of pro ball in Taiwan, comparable to A+. AA leagues in the US) for the last 12 years. He can play all four infield positions, and is still a physical monster at his age. Coming off an MVP season in the CPBL, Lin is now a free agent due for either a major raise in Taiwan or a contract offer from the MLB, KBO, or NPB.

Lin was the first overall pick in the 2003 Amateur Draft held in December, and he made his CPBL debut the next June as the 4-hitter in the La New Bears lineup. He made an immediate impact, hitting .318/.380/.527 with 11 home runs in just 57 games for the startup team, becoming their face of the franchise along with former top Dodgers prospect Chin-Feng Chen. Over the course of 12 years in the league, he has collected Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, and many Best 10 Awards (given to the best player at each position), as well as multiple HR titles and an MVP. This season, the CPBL saw an offensive boom, and save for a few, all hitters had career years and all pitchers had career worsts. Numbers from this season should be taken with a grain of salt, but Lin took full advantage of it, slashing .380/.469/.689 with 31 home runs and 30 stolen bases en route to MVP honors and a batting title as well as MVP of the Taiwan Series, which I covered here. The biggest takeaway from this season is that he showed that, at 33 years old, he still had plenty of athleticism left in him, swiping 30 bags. Looking at prior seasons, where the CPBL was a more neutral hitting/pitching environment, he has been a consistent performer over the course of his career. Lin's batting average has dipped below .310 just 3 times, with a career low of .279 in 2014 before bouncing back in a big way. He is one of the biggest power bats the island of Taiwan has ever produced, batting in the heart of the order in all of Chinese Taipei's international tournaments like the Olympics, World Baseball Classic, and 2015's Premier12, where Lin was one of the best players in the entire tournament, batting .347/.375/.913 with 4 HRs in 4 straight games, including this tie-breaker against the mighty Cubans, an absolute bomb off a 74-mph breaking ball.

Lin, of course, is not without his faults. His career 9% walk rate in the CPBL isn't bad, but likely does not bode well for his plate discipline numbers in the MLB. He has an aggressive approach and is susceptible to breaking balls and off speed, and while it has not been exposed in the CPBL (career 18% K-rate), against more advanced pitching in the Premier12 tournament, there were hints of strikeout issues. He struck out 6 times in 23 plate appearances, all coming against top teams such as Canada, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, including once against big-leaguer Andrew Albers. His swing, which lowers his hands before taking a bit of an uppercut through the zone, may lead to trouble against high fastballs with better velocity at the big league level. His natural defensive position is shortstop, and while he was a top defender back in his prime, he has lost a step with age and is probably best suited for an infield corner. He definitely has the arm to handle third and could probably play second as well and shortstop in a pinch, making him a versatile piece that could appeal to National League teams such as the Padres.

In Taiwan, Lin is more than just a baseball player. On the baseball-crazed island, fans treat their superstars like idols (airports go crazy when Wei-Yin Chen returns for the winter). Lin, who has a big personality and a high-energy guy both on and off the field is a media sensation, a true celebrity that is all over TV shows and magazines, with dance moves like these. A transition stateside will surely be closely followed by Taiwanese media and come with lots of hype, being the first CPBL position player to make the switch (Fu-Te Ni made it as a Tigers LOOGY before succumbing to Tommy John surgery). He has drawn interest from MLB before: as an amateur by the Seattle Mariners, who cited his athleticism and power up the middle, and the Cleveland Indians, who supposedly gave him a private workout in early 2010. Rumor also has it that the A's once considered him a possibility up the middle around that time as well. This offseason, as a true free agent and requiring no posting fee, he has drawn interest from the Padres and another mystery team who have checked in and confirmed Lin's free agency status with the CPBL, which shows that they at least have some interest in his abilities. The Padres currently stand to have some combination of Cory Spangenberg, Jedd Gyorko, Yangervis Solarte, and Jose Pirela handle infield duties, and while all of them are solid players in their own right, none of them scream "big offensive threat" or, with Gyorko as the exception, profile as 20+ HR bats. The Padres have been agressive in the Asian market, being the winning bidder for Korean pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim and pursuing Japanese third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda, who profiles similarly to Lin, this winter. While Lin, at 34 years old, is likely not the highest-upside solution to their problem, but he will probably provide some pop and versatility defensively at a reasonable price. At his age, he probably won't command much more than a 1 or 2 year deal worth somewhere around 2 million annually. It might even be smaller, depending on what teams are interested and if the KBO or NPB teams have legitimate interest as well. Expect Lin to hit around .230/.295/.390, and while that doesn't seem stunning right off the bat, it is right around what Ian Desmond and Wilmer Flores hit last year and certainly acceptable as a platoon option for someone like Spangenberg. At 34, Lin may be a bit past his prime, but with his high-energy game and ability to hit some homers and swipe a few bases, he should be an appealing piece to an infield-needy team like San Diego.

Here is a bonus video of Lin homering in Game 7 of the Taiwan Series, giving Lamigo a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Player Profile: Byung-ho Park

The 2014 Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization possessed a lineup envied by many around the league. Current Pirate shortstop and Rookie Of the Year finalist Jung-ho Kang bashed 40 home tuns, and MVP second baseman Geon-chang Seo batted .370 with 48 stolen bases. But the biggest threat in the lineup still lurked behind the two in the cleanup spot in the order: first baseman, Korean superstar and national sensation, and possible future Minnesota Twin, Byung-ho Park. He hit 52 home runs that year, and followed that up with 53 more in 2015, and he is now preparing for his next task, a transition to the MLB.

Byung-ho Park made his professional debut in 2005 at the age of 18 for the LG Twins in Korea, where he was seen by many as the next big thing. The year before, he led his high school team to a national championship, where he led the tournament in home runs with 10, and at one point hit 4 home runs in 4 consecutive plate appearances. A young hitter with prodigious power, Park was very much welcome on the power-starved team who finished with a disappointing 54-71 record, getting picked in the first round of the annual KBO Amateur Draft. However, at just 18 years old, Park struggled, hitting just .190/.265/.313 with 3 home runs. The LG Twins brought him back in '06, but he fared even worse, hitting a measly .162 before he went on military leave, a requirement for all Korean men of that age. Three years later, he resurfaced with the club, but the time off did not do him any good. In 2009, although he hit 9 home runs, he batted just .218, and did even worse in 2010, hitting an extremely disappointing .188. To the LG Twins, who so excitedly bought into the hype and power of the young slugger, he was beginning to seem like a major disappointment. After yet another disappointing start to the 2011 season, hitting .125 in his first 15 games, the LG Twins decided they had enough. They packaged him and swingman Soo-chang Shim to acquire dominant reliever Sin-young Song from the Nexen Heroes, who provided an immediate impact for the Twins. He pitched to the tune of a 1.99 ERA and became one of the bright spots in another struggle-filled season for LG. But Park and the Nexen Heroes got the last laugh. The change of scenery paid off, as Park fixed whatever problems he had and took off for the Heroes. He batted .265/.357/.535 with 12 home runs in 2011, before establishing himself as one of the premier KBO bats in 2012. He hit 31 home runs in 2012, 37 in '13, winning the league MVP both years in addition to the aforementioned combined 105 home runs in '14 and '15, leading him up to where he stands today, as a national celebrity in Korea and the possibility of coming stateside to the MLB.
This is a compilation of his home runs in his 5 years with Nexen, many of which were absolute moonshots:

At the conclusion of the 2015 KBO season, the Nexen Heroes have posted Byung-ho Park, and the Minnesota Twins put up the winning bid at $12.85 million. Rumor has it that, while not publicly available, his batted-ball exit velocities are right up there with the top talents in the MLB, ranking with the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Randal Grichuk, and Paul Goldschmidt. His power has been said to be an 80-grade, and while that may be an exaggeration, there is no doubt that Park is one of the best power bats available on the open market, as evidenced by this 522 foot bomb (note the scouts reaction).

Of course, Park is not without his faults. Even in the KBO, whose equivalent is likely the Double-A level, he struck out 161 times in 140 games in 2015. His swing is simple with a bat plane that will generate lots of fly balls, leading to lots of home runs, but against more advanced pitching the uppercut may be exposed. The load in his swing is slightly unorthodox compared to most Americans, but his main components such as his weight transfer, hip rotation, and hands all look reasonably solid. As a first baseman, he is a solid defender with surprising athleticism and is not your typical lumbering, mashing first baseman. He has a 20 stolen base season under his belt and did take 10 bags this year compared to just 3 times caught stealing. However, unlike fellow country-mate Jung-Ho Kang, he will not have the same leash that some other players may have as he does not play a premium position like shortstop. His value is solely tied to his bat and power at first base, but expect him to produce. A good big league comparison would be Mike Napoli, another power right handed bat who plays decent defense at first. (Napoli, by the way, was a Gold Glove finalist at first base. While he likely isn't that good defensively, he certainly is no slouch with the glove.) If Minnesota gets the deal done, expect Park to hit around .235/.310/.440 with 25 home runs in his first big league year and being a contributor to an offensively sound Twins ball club. 

Here is a bonus video of Park hitting a 475 foot moonshot over the batter's eye to his own catchy theme song:

CPBL: A Historic Game 7 for the Ages

When thinking of Asian import players during the offseason, most tend to search the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) of Japan or the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), and for good reasons too. The NPB has produced talents such as Ichiro and Masahiro Tanaka, with many fans in the States with their eyes on current Japanese aces Kenta Maeda and Shohei Otani. The KBO has made waves this year, with Jung-ho Kang making a successful transition and the possible posting of slugging third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang this winter. However, one major Asian league on par with the two other leagues and not nearly as well scouted is the CPBL in Taiwan. The acronym stands for the Chinese Professional Baseball League, which is kind of misleading since it is the baseball league in Taiwan with no ties to mainland China. But this blog is about baseball, and not politics, so let's carry on. While Taiwan has produced multiple successful major leaguers such as lefty Wei-Yin Chen, the CPBL has produced just one player in the MLB, former left handed reliever Fu-Te Ni, who had one solid season before his elbow gave out and required Tommy John. The Taiwan Series, or the CPBL equivalent of the World Series, however, holds some of the top CPBL talent who could make the transition to the MLB soon.

The high-offense Lamigo Monkeys (think the Blue Jays) had a lineup loaded with power up and down. They boasted the CPBL's first 30-30 player this season, infielder Chih-Sheng Lin, a soon-to-be free agent due for a big payday who also won the Home Run Derby this year at the age of 33. He slashed a ridiculous .380/.469/.689 with 30 stolen bases, blowing away his career highs and tying a career high 31 home runs. He was protected by Hong-Yu Lin, a catcher/DH who also set career highs with a .353/.443/.581 with 24 home runs and rookie sensation Po-Jung Wang, who hit .324/.377/.640 and 9 home runs in just 111 at bats, including this one (skip to 1:00) where he went opposite field 12 rows up the stands. The Monkeys also had Yen-Wen Kuo, a former Reds prospect, who despite an unorthodox swing has great bat to ball skills, slashing .297/.349/.418 including a league record 34 game hit streak, and Chun-Hsiu Chen, a big Indians prospect a few years back who swatted 25 long balls this year. The pitching was led by Pat Misch and Jared Lansford, who had a 2.96 and 4.15 ERA, respectively. One of the better native pitchers on the island, lefty Yi-Cheng Wang, struggled for the first time in his young career, with a 6.13 ERA, but he would later come up huge in this series.

The Lamigo Monkeys hype video:

The Chinatrust Brothers are a storied franchise, one of the original teams in the CPBL known as the Brother Elephants before Chinatrust bought the team this past offseason. The pitching was lead by former Brewer Mike McClendon and Victor Garate, as well as a lock-down bullpen with top set-up man Ta-Yuan Kuan and former Cubs prospect and current closer Hung-Wen Chen. The heart of the lineup had former superstar Cheng-min Peng, a 15-year veteran who, despite the drop-off in power production still managed to maintain his contact skills and excellent plate discipline. It also included veteran outfielder Szu-Chi Chou, who hit .349 with 15 home runs, bouncing back from a bad 2014 where he OPS'd just .686. The big threat in the lineup though, was second-year corner infielder Chi-Hong Hsu. With his solid arm, plate discipline, plus raw power and bit of swagger, he hit .319/.432/.535 with 13 home runs, earning the nickname "Taiwanese Manny Machado."

Chi-Hong Hsu going opposite field:

The Taiwan Series began with the Monkeys rallying behind former Giant and Met Pat Misch, who scattered eight hits and three runs over seven solid frames. Rookie of the Year candidate Po-Jung Wang (more on him in a later post) and Hung-Yu Lin both homered off Brothers' Victor Garate, beating them 8-6. But the Chinatrust Brothers came back, winning Game 2 behind a late rally, Game 3 with an 11 inning walk-off by shortstop Sheng-wei Wang, and a Game 4 12-7 slugfest. Yet the Monkeys then came back with a complete game by Yi-Cheng Wang in Game 5 to send the series back to Taoyuan, the home of the Monkeys. Game 6 was a thriller, with the Monkeys starting Cesar Valdez, who lost game 2, and the Brothers countering with Bryan Woodall. The Brothers led 3-2 in the top of the third and two outs when Lamigo manager Yi-Chong Hong made a pivotal decision. He brought in Game 3 starter Jared Lansford on just three days rest, and he pitched 5 gutsy innings while Lamigo rallied back, taking a 5-3 lead in the eighth when Lansford loaded the bases. Manager Hong then made one more big decision. He brought in Pat Misch, who started Games 1 and 4, in on two days rest to face the lefties. He walked in a run, but then struck out Chi-Hong Hsu to end the threat and keep the lead at 5-4, which is how the game ended.

This set up an epic Game 7, one that will be remembered in CPBL history for years to come. Having used Valdez and Lansford the night before and Wang two games ago, the Monkeys brought back Pat Misch to start the championship game after starting Games 1, 4, and relieving in Game 6. The tall lefty sat at 86-88 mph with a changeup at 82-83 and a 77 mph slider. He pounded the zone all night long, striking out the side in the second, mixing fastballs and changeups down and away against lefties, a sequence that worked for him the whole game. He retired the first 12 batters he faced before he walked Cheng-min Peng, but quickly erased him with a double play ball. The Monkeys were on offensively all game long. A first inning opposite field home run from MVP candidate Chih-Sheng Lin started the offense, and they exploded for 5 runs in the bottom of the third for a 7-0 lead. Lin started the rally again as the Brothers pitched around him, walking him with 2 outs in the third. This proved costly when Hong-Yu Lin followed up with a rocket line drive to right to put runners on first and second. Yen-Wen Kuo then doubled them both home with a gapper to left center, which chased Brothers starter Ping-Rei Chiu. The Brothers made the interesting decision to pitch spot starter Chiu in this big game 7 over scheduled starter Victor Garate, who was hit hard over two starts in the Series but solid overall. A reliever came in but the Monkeys were not done. Po-Jung Wang then lined an RBI single to right, setting a single-series record 14 hits. After yet another single by Chun-Hsiu Chen, the Monkeys scored 2 more when De-Long Yu, a fan-favorite village kid known for his speed and defense, hit an RBI double over the left fielder's head, making the score 7-0.

The Chinatrust Brothers, down 7-0 and still without a hit, tried to get something started off Misch with a bunt attempt to start off the 6th, but it went foul. Misch continued to stay in control with his fastball and changeup and mixing in his slider, getting ground balls and strikeouts as he threw another 1-2-3 inning. The Monkeys, in the bottom of the eighth, leading 9-0, decided to pinch hit Chin-Feng Chen, a CPBL legend who will likely retire at the end of the season. Back in 2000, Chen was the top prospect in the Dodgers farm system, rated  the #17 overall prospect in the MLB. After several excellent campaigns in AAA from 2002-2004, the Dodgers never gave him a shot, and he returned to Taiwan to play in the CPBL and be closer to family. He is arguably the best Taiwanese hitter of all-time, but injuries and age have slowed him down. He received just 52 plate appearances all year, but he made the most out of his possible final stand. He ripped a line drive single to right center, and later scored on a sac fly. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Misch was still dealing. Having faced the minimum through eight with just a walk to blemish his record, he faced the 7-8-9 part of the Brothers lineup. After retiring the first hitter on a groundout, Sheng-wei Wang gave him his first real scare on the night. He drove the ball to deep right, but Po-Jung Wang raced back easily and made the catch. On his 99th pitch off the night, pinch hitter Jian-Yu Kuo hit into a 6-3 groundout, giving Pat Misch the first postseason NO-HITTER in CPBL history. He was in control all night long, retiring the minimum 27 batters with 7 strikeouts. This series was truly the epitome of baseball: anything can happen to any team, anywhere, at any time. The Game 7 performance by Pat Misch and the collective effort of the Lamigo Monkeys to come back in this series will forever be etched in CPBL history books.