The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Japanese professional baseball league on Monday announced the signing of 19-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Zhang Jun-wei at a news conference in Taipei.
Although details of his contract were not disclosed at the event, various media in Japan have reported that the contract consisted of a signing bonus of ￥100 million (US$649,183) and an annual salary of ￥4 million.
Softbank Hawks general manager Sugihiko Mikasa said he was hugely impressed when he saw Zhang start for Taiwan during the Super Round of the U-18 Baseball World Cup against the US last year.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In that game played at the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, the Taiwanese pitcher threw seven shutout innings to give Taiwan a 3-0 victory over the US.
Mikasa said he was aware that Zhang, whose fastball can reach speeds of 156kph, expressed the hope of making it to the majors within two years, but he felt the top priority was to keep him healthy so he can continue to grow.
Zhang shares similar traits to Lin Yu-min, the 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect who started Taiwan’s World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 title game win over Japan on Sunday, New Taipei City Baseball Association chairman Tsai Ming-tang said.
As with Lin, Zhang is good technically and has a lot of heart, Tsai said, adding that he looked forward to seeing the young pitcher do well in Japan.
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