By Jason Shetler
Per John Dreker of Pittsburgh Baseball Network, the Pirates have signed Taiwanese pitcher Po-Yu Chen. The deal is for $1.25 million, this according to Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports.
The 19-year-old Chen has competed at some high levels internationally – most notably the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup with Team Taiwan.
Chen is a 6’2, 187 pound right-hander, with a low-90’s fastball that can top out at 94 mph. He also throws a good changeup and curveball, and has above average command of all his pitches. FanGraphs rated him the 22nd best international prospect for this year’s class.
The Pirates were clearly high on Chen – seeing as how they made some minor trades in September to obtain more international bonus money, which they no doubt used to sign him. Chen becomes the first Taiwanese player signed under Ben Cherington.
Bucs Pipeline 