The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that it had promoted 23-year-old baseball player Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) to its Major League Baseball (MLB) squad, making Cheng the 18th Taiwanese player to play in the MLB league.
Hailing from southern Pingtung Country, Cheng is 173cm tall, very fast and has major league-level defensive skills as a shortstop, according to the MLB’s official website.
Photo: Screengrab from Pittsburgh Pirates’ Instagram account
The Pirates began a three-game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals today, with the first game being played at 6:40am Taiwan time today.
Cheng was on the bench for the game, which the Pirates won 8-4.
"I [was] really excited when I got the call. It's kind of like a dream come true," said Cheng, who is better known within the Pirates system as "Z," in an introductory video released by the franchise.
It will be the first trip to the major leagues for the Pirates' No. 17 prospect, nearly five years after he made his professional debut in the Rookie Leagues in July 2021.
Cheng was called up to the club's MLB squad early due to a series of injuries on the team at the start of the season.
MLB reporter Alex Stumpf said that although Cheng was promoted earlier than planned, he has strong development potential and can take on a versatile role.
According to MLB’s report on its official website, Cheng has major league-level defensive skills and speed.
His hitting style suits a leadoff role, as he is a left-handed hitter who can get on base and create scoring opportunities, the report said.
Cheng bats left and throws right.
In 17 at-bats over 14 spring training games, he tallied six hits, including one homer and two doubles, and hit .353.
His ability to play multiple infield positions effectively also set him apart from other potential call-up candidates, the report said.
In addition, he shows good plate discipline, pressures opponents with his speed and is skilled at hitting line drives to both left and right field, it said.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
RSS