BASEBALL/Pirates sign Taiwanese pitching prospect to US$650,000 deal

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed Taiwanese pitching prospect Lin Chun-hsi (林珺希) to a minor league contract worth about US$650,000, his agency, Flight International Co., announced in a statement Friday.

The announcement came after Major League Baseball's official transactions page listed Lin as having signed a minor league contract with the Pirates on June 9.

Max Kwan, the Pirates' vice president of international scouting, said the organization had closely followed Lin's development over the past several years and believes his smooth delivery and outstanding pitch characteristics make him a strong fit for the club's pitching development program.

Roger Chiang (江睿彥), the Pirates' director of Asia-Pacific operations, also praised Lin's potential, citing his strong arm, clean delivery, quality fastball, above-major-league-average spin rate and command of off-speed pitches.

Lin represented Taiwan at the 2025 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, making four relief appearances. He struck out eight batters over 5 1/3 innings without allowing a run as Taiwan captured the bronze medal.

During his amateur career, Lin also played as a two-way player before focusing on pitching.

His signing marks another milestone for Taoyuan Municipal Daxi Senior High School, which has now produced three players to sign with Major League Baseball organizations.

Third baseman Liao Yu-lin (廖宥霖) became the school's first player to join an MLB organization when he signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers last year. Earlier this week, Lin's teammate Lai Chien-fan (賴謙凡) completed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees worth up to US$1 million.

Lin said in the statement that playing professional baseball overseas has been his dream since childhood.

"It is a great honor and I am very happy to have the opportunity to develop my career in the United States," he said. "I will keep working hard to reach the major leagues."