Chinese Taipei has announced its preliminary roster for the Asian Games, scheduled for Sept. 21-27 in Japan. The roster features several players who represented Chinese Taipei at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, along with a number of amateur players.
Chinese Taipei is in Group B alongside longtime rival South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong. Three years ago, Chinese Taipei lost to South Korea in the gold medal game at the Asian Games in China. Another matchup between the rivals is widely expected, and their group-stage meeting is one of the marquee games of the tournament. Coming off their first-ever win over Korea at the WBC, Chinese Taipei will look to beat their longtime nemesis at the Asian Games.
On the mound, one player to watch is Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters right-hander Ruei-Yang Gu Lin. After pitching for Chinese Taipei at this year’s World Baseball Classic, Gu Lin opened the NPB season in the Fighters’ bullpen but struggled. He posted a 7.50 ERA in 12 innings with 10 walks before being sent to the minors. Since his demotion, he has recorded a 4.81 ERA in 24 1/3 innings with 29 strikeouts. Chinese Taipei still must receive permission from the Fighters for him to participate, but he would be one of the team’s top starters despite his difficult season.
Another key pitcher on the preliminary roster is Hanwha Eagles left-hander Yan-Cheng Wang. After spending the past six seasons in the Rakuten Golden Eagles’ minor league system in Japan, Wang signed with Hanwha through the KBO’s Asian Quota program. He has been solid in his first KBO season, posting a 3.59 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings. Wang has already received approval to participate and is expected to be one of Chinese Taipei’s top starters.
Another notable pitcher is Wen-Hui Pan. The Philadelphia Phillies prospect missed all of 2025 because of injury but has enjoyed a strong 2026 season. He opened the year at Single-A, making six appearances before earning a promotion to High-A Jersey Shore. There, he posted a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings with 13 strikeouts before being promoted to Double-A. In eight appearances at Double-A, he has a 3.38 ERA in eight innings. Pan is expected to be Chinese Taipei’s top reliever and the favorite to serve as the team’s closer.
While Chinese Taipei included several overseas professionals, it selected only five players from the CPBL. The TSG Hawks and Fubon Guardians declined to allow any of their players to participate. The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions were the only club to send two players. The preliminary roster includes 13 professional players and 11 amateurs.
One offensive player to watch is Rakuten Monkeys outfielder Chen-Wei Chen. He is the only CPBL player on the Asian Games roster who also played for Chinese Taipei at this year’s World Baseball Classic. Chen is batting .293/.346/.401 with five home runs, 24 RBIs and 17 stolen bases this season. His five home runs are tied for the second-highest total of his career with more than 50 games remaining. He is expected to bat leadoff for Chinese Taipei.
Jo-Hsi Hsu, Chinese Taipei’s ace at this year’s World Baseball Classic, and Boston Red Sox shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng were both named to the preliminary roster. Hsu underwent back surgery this week and will miss the tournament. Cheng is the only active MLB player included on a preliminary roster for the event. Because the tournament takes place during the major league season, he is considered unlikely to participate. The last active MLB player to compete in the Asian Games was Shin-Soo Choo for South Korea in 2010.
Chinese Taipei opens Pool B on Sept. 21 against South Korea. South Korea has won four consecutive Asian Games gold medals and six of the past seven, while Chinese Taipei has lost to South Korea in three of the past four gold medal games.
Chinese Taipei will face Thailand on Sept. 22 before concluding group play against Hong Kong on Sept. 23.
Pool A consists of Japan, China, Palestine and the Philippines. The top two teams from each pool will advance to a two-day super round on Sept. 25-26. The gold medal game and bronze medal game will be played on Sept. 27.
Full preliminary roster
Pitchers
- Jo-Hsi Hsu (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
- Ruei-Yang Gu Lin (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
- Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang (Athletics Triple-A)
- Yu-Min Lin (Arizona Diamondbacks Triple-A)
- Yan-Cheng Wang (Hanwha Eagles)
- Wen-Hui Pan (Philadelphia Phillies Double-A)
- Yi-Lei Sun (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
- Yu-Chieh Wang (Taiwan Power Company)
- Tzu-Chuan Kuo (Taiwan Power Company)
- Yi-Wei Lin (Taiwan Cooperative Bank)
- Cheng-Hao Wang (Taiwan Cooperative Bank)
Infielders
- Tsung-Che Cheng (Boston Red Sox)
- Ji-Hong Liu (Wei Chuan Dragons)
- Wei-Sheng Huang (CTBC Brothers)
- Min-Sih Chen (Taiwan Life Aloong)
- Yu-Wei Kao (Taiwan Cooperative Bank)
- I-Wei Li (Taiwan Cooperative Bank)
- Yu-Li Lin (Taiwan Life Aloong)
Outfielders
- Chen-Wei Chen (Rakuten Monkeys)
- Tzu-Chieh Tien (Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions)
- Chen-Yu Yang (Taiwan Cooperative Bank)
- Hsiao-Yun Chen (Taiwan Cooperative Bank)
Catchers
- Hsiang Chang (Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions)
- Wei-Tai Tsai (Tainan City Baseball)
Photo: Chen Chen-Wei of Chinese Taipei celebrates a triple against the United States at the 2024 WBSC Premier12 at the Tokyo Dome. (Photo Courtesy WBSC)
