Pan will lead the rotation this season without the help of Frascatore and Parra, but he will have the support of a pair of American right-handers in Jose Alberro and Michael Garcia and former Japanese big leaguer Masami Ishigawa.
Having arguably the best pitching staff in the league, the Lions' postseason hopes will rest in the hands of an offense that lacks power and consistency.
The move of former leadoff man Huang Kang-lin (黃甘霖) to third in the batting order could make a difference in run production for the Lions as manager Hsieh Chang-hern (謝長亨) trades off Huang's base-stealing ability (five-times base-stealing champ) for his .333 batting average and relies on third baseman Wu Jia-rong (吳佳榮) to get on base in his new leadoff role.
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