Taiwanese pitcher Lin Yu-min on Thursday moved one step closer to an MLB contract after being invited to spring training by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Lin was among 26 non-roster invitees announced by the Diamondbacks on the same day that the ballclub unveiled its 40-man spring training roster.
According to the Diamondbacks’ schedule, pitchers and catchers are to report on Feb. 14 before their full-squad workout starts on Feb. 19.
Photo: CNA
The invitation is Lin’s first call to spring training since signing for the Diamondbacks in 2022.
Known for his striking abilities, Lin began last season at High-A and was promoted to Double-A in July, finishing the year with 140 strikeouts over 121-1/3 innings.
The left-hander started in all of his 11 games with the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliate, recording a 5-2 record with a 4.28 ERA.
He struck out 64 over 61 innings pitched, while maintaining a .221 batting average against and a 1.23 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP).
The 20-year-old Lin is one of two Taiwanese pitchers who could potentially appear in the majors next season, along with the San Francisco Giants’ Teng Kai-wei, who spent the second half of last year in Triple-A with the Sacramento River Cats.
In the middle of last month, a report on the official MLB Web site titled “Here are the Top 10 LFP prospects for 2024” by Sam Dykstra referred to Lin as one to “keep an eye on,” although he did not make the top 10.
Despite standing only 180cm tall and his fastball averaging about 90mph (144.8kph), Lin’s “79-81mph changeup can be especially deadly, while his low-80s slider and mid-70s curve can also look like at least above-average pitches,” Dykstra wrote.
Although Taiwan included Lin on their roster for last year’s Asian Baseball Championship, the Diamondbacks declined to release him due to concerns about insufficient off-season rest.
If Lin takes to the mound this MLB season, he will become the youngest Taiwanese to ever play in the majors, breaking the record of 21 years, 354 days, the age left-handed pitcher Wang Wei-chung set on April 14, 2014, when he started for the Milwaukee Brewers against the St Louis Cardinals.
The most recent start by a Taiwanese pitcher in an MLB game dates back to Sept. 28, 2018, when Chen Wei-yin took the mound first up for the Miami Marlins against the Washington Nationals.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS