Taiwan’s Cheng Tsung-che on Monday was called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates for his first MLB appearance, becoming the first Taiwanese player to reach the majors this year.
Cheng, who signed as an international free agent in 2019, was returning from the first series for Triple-A affiliate the Indianapolis Indians and was preparing for his wife’s birthday when he got the call up to the majors for the first time, MLB.com reported on Monday.
“It feels like this is kind of the best birthday gift for her,” the Web site quoted the infielder as saying through his interpreter, Haagen Tan.
Photo: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / USA Today
The Pirates announced the promotion on social media, saying it was recalling Cheng after placing Jared Triolo on the 10-day injured list.
“I [was] really excited when I got the call. It’s kind of like a dream come true,” Cheng said in a video released by the franchise.
The Pirates’ No. 17 prospect, who is referred to as “Z” by his teammates, is to make his first majors appearance, nearly five years after he made his professional debut in the Rookie Leagues in July 2021.
Cheng, whose jersey number is 71, is the 18th Taiwanese player to play in the majors.
The most recent Taiwanese player to make it to the majors was Teng Kai-wei, who had a four-game stint with the San Francisco Giants. He currently plays with the Giants’ Triple-A team.
Although Cheng has only played 11 games with Indianapolis — six at the end of last season, and five this year — his 65-grade fielding tool is the highest among the Pirates top 30 prospects, MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf wrote.
Scouting grades range from 20 to 80, with 60 considered above average and 70-80 indicating well-above average.
“I think we saw the full scope of it in spring training,” Stumpf quoted Pirates manager Derek Shelton as saying. “Regardless if he played second or short, he can really defend. He’s played some third, a little bit in the minor leagues. With losing Triolo, we needed someone who could play short as the backup. We felt he fit us the best.”
Cheng’s opportunity came after Triolo was placed on the injured list with a lumbar spine strain, MLB.com said.
That followed a string of injuries for the Buccos’ infielders, including Nick Gonzales, Spencer Horwitz and No. 5 prospect Nick Yorke.
Cheng, 23, bats left and throws right. In 17 at-bats over 14 spring training games, he tallied six hits, including one homer and two doubles, with a .353 batting average.
His ability to play multiple infield positions also set him apart from other potential call-up candidates.
Cheng is expected to begin in a bench role.
Although he did not appear in the Pirates’ 8-4 win at home over the St Louis Cardinals on Monday, he did show up to batting practice, where he took in the view of the city skyline from PNC Park, Stumpf said.
“That’s the moment that makes you feel: ‘Oh, it’s true,’” MLB.com quoted Cheng as saying.
Although Cheng, who played for Taiwan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and won the Caribbean Series championship with Colombia in 2022, speaks through an interpreter, he last month told MLB.com that he was learning English through country music.
While playing for Pirates’ Double-A affiliate the Altoona Curve last year and in 2023, his walk-up music was Luke Combs’ version of Fast Car.
He told Stumpf that he was also learning Spanish to forge closer relationships with his teammates.
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh on Monday night, Joey Bart, Andrew McCutchen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa each drove in two runs, as the Pirates handed the Cardinals their fourth consecutive loss.
Bart connected in the first inning for his first homer of the season. He also hit an RBI triple during Pittsburgh’s four-run seventh.
Elsewhere, the Detroit Tigers shut down the New York Yankees 6-2, The Cincinnati Reds blanked the Giants 2-0, the Washington Nationals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4, the Kansas City Royals topped the Minnesota Twins 4-2, the New York Mets shut out the Miami Marlins 2-0 and the San Diego Padres pipped the Athletics 5-4.
The Toronto Blue Jays took down the Boston Red Sox 6-2, the Chicago Cubs dominated the Texas Rangers 7-0, the Seattle Mariners survived the Houston Astros 4-3 and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1.
Additional reporting by AP
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
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
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS