Indians sign Taiwanese amateur RHP Lee

From the Indians....

INDIANS SIGN RHP CHEN-CHANG LEE TO MINOR LEAGUE FREE AGENT CONTRACT
21-Year Old Amateur Hurler was Member of 2008 Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) Olympic Team

CLEVELAND, OH --- The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has signed amateur RHP CHEN-CHANG LEE to a free agent minor league contract.

Lee, who turns 22 on October 21, hails from Taiwan and is one of the top amateur college prospects from the island nation. He was a member of the 2008 Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) Olympic Team that competed in Beijing, China and recorded an ERA of 2.00 in 2 Olympic outings (9.0IP, 6H, 2R/ER, 2BB, 11K). His best outing of the Olympics came against the Cuban national team, tossing 6.2 innings in a starting role (3H, 1R/ER, 7K). He also appeared in relief vs. the United States (2.1IP, 3H, 1R/ER, 0BB, 4K). Lee was one of just 3 amateurs on the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) Olympic Team.

He attended Taipei Physical Education College and pitched for the Taiwanese National team in the 2006 and 2008 World University Baseball Championships. As a 19-year old in 2006 at the World University Championships he held the Cuban National Team to 1 run on 2 hits over 8.1IP (6K) as Taiwan beat Cuba for the first time in two decades. He also pitched in the Asian Games and Intercontinental Cup for Taiwan in 2006.

Lee also had a successful stint pitching in the United States in the summer of 2007, pitching for the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaskan Baseball League. He went 4-0 w/a 2.62 ERA in 7 starts in the ABL (44.2IP, 37H, 13ER, 27K) on their way to the league title.

“Chen-Chang Lee has had a great deal of experience and success pitching at the highest level of international competition,” said Assistant General Manager, Scouting Operations JOHN MIRABELLI. “That experience and success make him a very attractive prospect for us and we feel he has a great deal of upside. We are very familiar with Chen-Chang as we have scouted him since he was a 16-year old high school pitcher in Pingtung County, Taiwan before he opted to attend college.”

Lee will report to the Fall Instructional League in Goodyear, Arizona in the near future.

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