Wei-Chieh Huang is a Ranger

Wei-Chieh Huang scouting report: the Texas Rangers have flipped Jake Diekman for Wei-Chieh Huang. The small bodied righty (6’1” 170) was signed by the Diamondbacks out of Taiwan in 2014 for $450,000, Huang was originally a starter, but has since moved to reliever and is flourishing. Dude gets Ks and generally doesn’t walk many. After pitching in the 2015 Futures Game, his 2016 season got off to a late start following a required stint in the Taiwanese military. 2016 proved to be a tricky one as some nagging injuries kept him from gaining traction and he’s only started 2 games since that season. He has, however, blossomed into a bat-missing potential bullpen arm as the Dbacks have stretched him out over the last 2 years into a bit of a long-reliever. That appears to be the role best suited for him given his repertoire (FB/CH/CB/SL) and body type.

“Not overpowering, but he can miss bats with the secondary stuff. Real real thin guy. Health and durability is the question. But it’s big league stuff.”

-A very friendly MLB scout whom I owe dinner

(courtesy of Baseball Census)

He’ll be 25 in September and should head to Frisco for the last of his reps for 2018. Currently sitting at 58.1ip, I imagine the Rangers and Wei-Chieh have last year’s career high of 64.2ip in their sights as a finishing mark for the regular season. Personally, I can’t wait to see this kid. FB is 90-94 with healthy wiggle and the CH is a plus pitch. I’m told he uses a loopy CB and a new-ish SL as well. Miss bats and stay healthy, it’s that simple, right? As for what happens after the season ends in a month or so, an AFL assignment can’t be ruled out, and I’m told he’s worked incredibly hard to improve his English and loves living here. I gotta be honest, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot for Diekman, and Huang plus a PTBNL are about in line with what I hoped for. Huang can be another bullpen arm in the upper levels capable of helping the big league team in the next couple of seasons in Arlington. Also, Taylor Hearn needs at least one teammate to introduce to Whataburger.

As Always, Enjoy Baseball!

Love Ya!

-Tepid