Indians Top 100 Prospects: #49 Chen-Chang Lee

49. Chen-Chang Lee - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 10/21/1986 - Height: 5'11" - Weight: 176 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year

Age

Team

Lvl

W

L

ERA

G

GS

SV

IP

H

ER

HR

BB

K

BB/9

K/9

WHIP

2008

21

Taiwan

I

3

6

2.07

14

UNK

0

87.0

70

20

UNK

21

64

2.17

6.62

1.05

* These stats are a combination of his outings throughout 2008 in the Olympics, Spring League Tourney, Honkball Haarlem Tourney, and FISU World University Baseball Championships

History: Lee was signed as an international free agent on 09/16/2008 for a reported $400,000. Lee was one of the top amateur college prospects from Taiwan, and was just one of three amateurs on the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) team that competed in Beijing, China during the 2008 Olympics. In a start against the Cuban National Team he went an impressive 6.2 innings and allowed just three hits, one run, two walks and struck out seven. His other appearance was against Team USA where he went 2.1 innings and allowed three hits, one run, no walks, and had four strikeouts.

Strengths & Opportunities: Lee throws from a sidearm slot and has a four pitch mix of a fastball, sinker, slider and split finger. His fastball velocity as a starter sat around 90-92 MPH and topped out as high as 94 MPH. His future is in the bullpen, and he made the transition to the bullpen right away when he reported to the Fall Instructional League back in September. With a move to the bullpen his average fastball velocity is expected to tick up a MPH or two. He gets good movement on all his pitches and has shown a good ability to command the strike zone. He is a very experienced pitcher who has achieved success at every stop imaginable on the international circuit. The Indians have been scouting him since he was 16-years old and they believe he has a lot of upside. Had he been in the 2008 Draft, the Indians said he would have been a fourth or fifth round pick.

In addition to the Olympics, Lee attended Taipei Physical Education College and pitched for the Taiwanese National team in the 2006 and 2008 World University Baseball Championships. At just 19 years of age at the World University Baseball Championships in 2006 he beat the Cuban National Team by throwing 8.1 spectacular innings and allowed only one run on two hits and had six strikeouts. He also has some other experience pitching internationally as he also pitched in the Asian Games and Intercontinental Cup for Taiwan in 2006, and in the summer of 2007 he pitched in the United States for the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaskan Baseball League going 4-0 with a 2.62 ERA in seven starts (44.2 IP, 37 H, 13 ER, 27 K).

Outlook: The Indians are taking another stab at a pitcher from Taiwan after signing Sung-Wei Tseng in 2006. Tseng to date has not worked out, but Lee may have more promise. He will likely open the season next year in the advanced Single-A Kinston bullpen and is expected to move through the system quickly given his experience and advanced pitching approach.

Photo courtesy of TaiwanBaseball.com

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