The Chinese Professional Baseball League season has nearly completed three-fourths of its first half, and with the first-half champion clinching a postseason berth, the race for the top spot remains critical.
The Wei Chuan Dragons have been the surprise team of the season and currently hold a commanding lead in the first-half standings. At 31-15, they have won 13 of their last 15 games and have allowed one run or fewer in eight of those victories.
The Dragons continue to be carried by a historic pitching staff. Their 2.11 ERA is on pace to break the CPBL single-season record. While the offense averages just 3.9 runs per game, the pitching staff has recorded a league-leading 10 shutouts. All six members of the team’s starting rotation own ERAs of 3.83 or lower, led by Marcelo Martínez at 0.74 and John Gant at 1.07.
Gant, a former MLB pitcher, has been nothing short of spectacular in his first season in Taiwan. He has struck out 53 batters in 50 1/3 innings while posting a league-best 1.07 ERA among qualified pitchers. In his most recent start against the Rakuten Monkeys, he showed why he is among the leading MVP candidates. Gant threw seven innings, struck out eight and allowed just one hit in a dominant outing.
The MVP race currently appears to be a two-man battle, and Yu Chang continues to prove why he belongs firmly in the conversation. Healthy for much of the season, Chang has separated himself from the rest of the league’s hitters. He owns a 1.026 OPS and is the only qualified hitter above .951. He leads the league with a .448 on-base percentage, with no other qualified hitter within 40 points. He is tied for second with seven home runs and tied for third with 23 walks.
The Fubon Guardians have relied heavily on Chang’s production as they attempt to overcome one of the league’s weaker pitching staffs. Aside from Chang, only Kuo-Chen Fan has an OPS above .800 on the roster, posting an .827 mark with six home runs. Together, Chang and Fan have combined for 13 home runs, while the remainder of the team has hit just eight. They have formed the most productive power-hitting duo in the CPBL this season.
Against the league-leading Dragons last Wednesday, Chang delivered one of his best performances of the season. He went 3-for-4 with a home run against Jen-Ho Tseng, who had allowed just one earned run entering the game. With the Guardians sitting at 23-20 and in third place, Chang has a legitimate opportunity to capture his first CPBL MVP award if he can maintain his current pace through the second half.
The biggest disappointment of the season has undoubtedly been the CTBC Brothers. The premier franchise of the CPBL’s 21st-century era has already been eliminated from first-half title contention with 15 games remaining.
The Brothers sit at 13-31-1 and have shown few signs of improvement. They are 2-8 over their last 10 games and rank last in the league with a 4.17 team ERA while scoring just 3.04 runs per game, the second-lowest mark in the CPBL.
A major factor in their struggles has been the underperformance of their foreign pitching additions. Former MLB pitcher Nick Nelson enjoyed a strong 2025 season with the Hanshin Tigers before signing with CTBC, but he has struggled mightily in Taiwan. Nelson owns a 4.91 ERA across 29 1/3 innings despite pitching in the hitter-suppressing CPBL environment.
The Brothers also signed Félix Peña after his successful stint with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, but he has posted a 9.00 ERA through two starts. Entering the season, pitching appeared to be the club’s greatest strength. Instead, it has become one of its biggest weaknesses.
Offensively, the Brothers have hit a league-low 15 home runs and are on pace for one of the worst power-hitting seasons in league history. With their first-half title hopes already extinguished and a 13-31-1 record weighing them down, winning the second half may be their only path to the postseason. For one of the CPBL’s flagship franchises, the collapse of the 2026 season has been a stunning development.
Another surprise team has been the TSG Hawks. A team not expected to be a playoff team sits now in second place and in excellent position to challenge for a playoff berth with a solid second half. Their big slugger, Steven Moya, leads the way. In his third season with the Hawks, he is having another great year. He has a .951 OPS with a CPBL-leading 8 home runs. On the mound, their big offseason signing of former Phillies pitcher David Buchanan has really paid off. He has a 2.50 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. He has previously pitched in Japan and Korea and in his first full season in Taiwan, he has made his impact in the CPBL.
May MVP Honors
For the first time in franchise history, the Fubon Guardians swept the league’s monthly MVP awards.
Chang was named Hitter of the Month after batting .371/.500/.671 with five home runs, 10 RBIs and four stolen bases. It marked the first monthly hitting award of his CPBL career.
On the pitching side, right-hander Tung-Ming Li earned Pitcher of the Month honors. Li posted a 0.75 ERA across four starts, throwing 24 innings with 16 strikeouts while earning victories in all four outings.
Standings
Wei Chuan Dragons: 31-15
TSG Hawks: 25-20-1
Fubon Guardians: 23-20
Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions: 23-22-1
Rakuten Monkeys: 18-25-1
CTBC Brothers: 13-31-1
Photo: Yu Chang celebrates home run against Wei Chuan Dragons. Photo credit to CPBL
