Player Profiles: Wei-Yin Chen
The first Baltimore Orioles pitcher from Taiwan, meet Wei-Yin Chen. Chen pitched in Japan before coming to the Orioles and was a great success story for Orioles scouting.
Chen came to the Orioles when he signed a three-year deal plus a team option for 2015. Chen signed the deal in the winter of 2011 and since then has been a stable member of the Orioles rotation.
Chen is a left-handed pitcher with a fastball that maxes out in the mid to low 90’s and a fantastic curve ball. Chen has excellent mechanics which help him have great command of his fastball. Chen has been a flyball pitcher but has still had success in Camden Yards. An amazing stat about Chen is that he has only hit seven batters in his first two Major League seasons.
After around 85 pitches Chen generally starts to lose effectiveness. Chen really is not effective throwing beyond 100 pitches. The hitters generally have the most success against Chen later in the games.
Chen is also one of the pitchers who know how to get himself out of trouble. In games that Chen starts off bad he usually finds a way to give the Orioles a few good innings and get into the 5th inning at least.
2012 was Chen’s first season with the Orioles and he did more than hold his own in his first season in America. Chen started 32 games in 2012 and went 12 and 11 with a 4.02 era. Chen was the Orioles most stable starter in 2012 and had a lot to do with them making the playoffs. It surprised a lot of people that Chen was able to make 32 starts in his first Major League season.
In 2013 Chen had some injury problems but still made 23 starts, he started the season as the Orioles number two starter. Chen’s era was just about the same as it was in 2012, posting a 4.07 era. Chen’s record was only 7-7 because of the injuries and some of his better starts were blown.
I think Chen will remain a solid starter for the Orioles for years to come. Chen has great mechanics and is a good athlete. He looks to be the Orioles number three starter for the start of 2014.
Here is a good video on Chen.
Here are some of Chen’s stats.
