u/demianblue79

Hello, everyone. I'm Demian, an A's fan from South Korea.

Last spring, I finally returned to the Bay Area after many years. Unfortunately, there was no longer any baseball at the Coliseum, so I watched a game at Oracle Park instead.

Now SF Giants have a South Korean outfielder, Jung Hoo Lee, and have consequently become much more popular in South Korea. As an A's fan, that's a little painful to see.

I was also sorry to hear the recent news about David Forst.

Anyway, the player I want to introduce this time is a Taiwanese pitcher currently playing in the KBO.

His name is Yan-Cheng Wang, a left-handed pitcher born in 2001.

Wang's fastball reaches 94 mph, and he also throws a slider and a forkball.

stats : https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wang--000yan

Highlight video of recent start (Aug 04) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hfIZMeKTw

Wang currently pitches for the Hanwha Eagles.

Hanwha has former LA Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bruce Zimmermann. Last season, the team also had Cody Ponce, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Ryan Weiss, now with the Houston Astros.

This season, he became the second pitcher in the league to reach 10 wins and the first foreign pitcher to do so.

* Major Foreign Pitchers Currently Playing in the KBO

https://preview.redd.it/21vwj6ajfmih1.png?width=343&format=png&auto=webp&s=843556d5367486b2cabb3b11f67eb804ab8e7c86

The KBO introduced its foreign-player system in 1998 and introduced an Asian player quota this season.

Wang is playing under the new Asian quota, earning $200,000 this season. He has several options for next year:

1. Stay in the KBO under the Asian quota for $300,000.
2. Sign as a regular foreign player for around $1 million.
3. Return to Japan, where he previously played in the NPB minor leagues.
4. Return to Taiwan and play in the CPBL, although that would likely be the least lucrative option.

There is, however, an interesting variable: the Asian Games next month.

Wang will represent Taiwan, and Taiwan and South Korea are expected to be among the favorites to reach the final.

This could have a major impact on his future in South Korea.

South Korea requires most male citizens to complete 18 months of mandatory military service. However, winning a gold medal at the Asian Games provides South Korean athletes with an exemption from the normal military-service requirement.

So, if Taiwan were to beat South Korea in the final and prevent South Korea from winning gold, some of South Korea's players could face military service afterward.

In other words, if Wang were the pitcher who beat South Korea in the Asian Games final, he might become a very unpopular person in South Korea — and perhaps have a much harder time finding a place in the KBO afterward.

I'm only half-joking, but it will definitely be an interesting storyline to watch.

Wang's ultimate goal is to use his experience in Japanese and South Korean baseball as a stepping stone to Major League Baseball.

Several pitchers who played in South Korea last season made the jump to MLB contracts, including Drew Anderson, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss.

Wang has already shown that he can compete successfully at the professional level in Asia, so I think he is a legitimate player for MLB teams to keep an eye on.

And this is where I think the A's should be interested.

The A's need starting pitching, and Wang is a young left-hander with professional experience in both Japan and South Korea. His fastball reaches the mid-90s, he has multiple secondary pitches, and he has already shown that he can succeed as a starter in the KBO.

He wouldn't need to be signed as a major free agent or expected to immediately become a frontline starter. The A's could bring him into the organization at a relatively modest cost and see whether his stuff translates to MLB.

Wang is also Taiwanese, the same nationality as Wei-Chung Wang, who pitched for the A's in 2019.

Taiwanese players can also be an interesting fit for an organization looking to expand its presence in Asian baseball. Taiwanese media have been paying considerable attention to Wang's success in South Korea, and his path could provide motivation for other Taiwanese players currently in the minor leagues.

There are currently no Taiwanese starting pitchers established in the major leagues. From both a baseball and international-market perspective, Wang seems like an intriguing player for the A's to take a chance on.

Most importantly, the potential downside is relatively small.

I think a $2–3 million contract could be enough to bring him into the organization, while giving the A's an inexpensive opportunity to add a young left-handed starter to their pitching depth.

For a team looking to strengthen its starting rotation without making a huge financial commitment, I think Yan-Cheng Wang is a name worth watching.

Hello, everyone. I'm Demian, an A's fan from South Korea.

Last spring, I finally returned to the Bay Area after many years. Unfortunately, there was no longer any baseball at the Coliseum, so I watched a game at Oracle Park instead.

Now SF Giants have a South Korean outfielder, Jung Hoo Lee, and have consequently become much more popular in South Korea. As an A's fan, that's a little painful to see.

I was also sorry to hear the recent news about David Forst.

Anyway, the player I want to introduce this time is a Taiwanese pitcher currently playing in the KBO.

His name is Yan-Cheng Wang, a left-handed pitcher born in 2001.

Wang's fastball reaches 94 mph, and he also throws a slider and a forkball.

stats : https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wang--000yan

Highlight video of recent start (Aug 04) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hfIZMeKTw

Wang currently pitches for the Hanwha Eagles.

Hanwha has former LA Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bruce Zimmermann. Last season, the team also had Cody Ponce, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Ryan Weiss, now with the Houston Astros.

This season, he became the second pitcher in the league to reach 10 wins and the first foreign pitcher to do so.

* Major Foreign Pitchers Currently Playing in the KBO

https://preview.redd.it/21vwj6ajfmih1.png?width=343&format=png&auto=webp&s=843556d5367486b2cabb3b11f67eb804ab8e7c86

The KBO introduced its foreign-player system in 1998 and introduced an Asian player quota this season.

Wang is playing under the new Asian quota, earning $200,000 this season. He has several options for next year:

1. Stay in the KBO under the Asian quota for $300,000.
2. Sign as a regular foreign player for around $1 million.
3. Return to Japan, where he previously played in the NPB minor leagues.
4. Return to Taiwan and play in the CPBL, although that would likely be the least lucrative option.

There is, however, an interesting variable: the Asian Games next month.

Wang will represent Taiwan, and Taiwan and South Korea are expected to be among the favorites to reach the final.

This could have a major impact on his future in South Korea.

South Korea requires most male citizens to complete 18 months of mandatory military service. However, winning a gold medal at the Asian Games provides South Korean athletes with an exemption from the normal military-service requirement.

So, if Taiwan were to beat South Korea in the final and prevent South Korea from winning gold, some of South Korea's players could face military service afterward.

In other words, if Wang were the pitcher who beat South Korea in the Asian Games final, he might become a very unpopular person in South Korea — and perhaps have a much harder time finding a place in the KBO afterward.

I'm only half-joking, but it will definitely be an interesting storyline to watch.

Wang's ultimate goal is to use his experience in Japanese and South Korean baseball as a stepping stone to Major League Baseball.

Several pitchers who played in South Korea last season made the jump to MLB contracts, including Drew Anderson, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss.

Wang has already shown that he can compete successfully at the professional level in Asia, so I think he is a legitimate player for MLB teams to keep an eye on.

And this is where I think the A's should be interested.

The A's need starting pitching, and Wang is a young left-hander with professional experience in both Japan and South Korea. His fastball reaches the mid-90s, he has multiple secondary pitches, and he has already shown that he can succeed as a starter in the KBO.

He wouldn't need to be signed as a major free agent or expected to immediately become a frontline starter. The A's could bring him into the organization at a relatively modest cost and see whether his stuff translates to MLB.

Wang is also Taiwanese, the same nationality as Wei-Chung Wang, who pitched for the A's in 2019.

Taiwanese players can also be an interesting fit for an organization looking to expand its presence in Asian baseball. Taiwanese media have been paying considerable attention to Wang's success in South Korea, and his path could provide motivation for other Taiwanese players currently in the minor leagues.

There are currently no Taiwanese starting pitchers established in the major leagues. From both a baseball and international-market perspective, Wang seems like an intriguing player for the A's to take a chance on.

Most importantly, the potential downside is relatively small.

I think a $2–3 million contract could be enough to bring him into the organization, while giving the A's an inexpensive opportunity to add a young left-handed starter to their pitching depth.

For a team looking to strengthen its starting rotation without making a huge financial commitment, I think Yan-Cheng Wang is a name worth watching.