The Chinese Professional Baseball League is approaching mid-August with four teams within three games of first-place Rakuten in the league’s second half.
The Wei Chuan Dragons won the first half with a 39-21 record and sit at 13-10 in second place in the second half. Barring a collapse the rest of the way, they are close to a lock for the Taiwan Series. If they win the second half, they would earn automatic qualification for the Taiwan Series.
July MVP honors announced
Steven Moya of the TSG Hawks was named the MVP among hitters. He hit .333 with a 1.026 OPS, four home runs and 16 RBIs. Moya has an .865 OPS with 14 home runs and 71 RBIs this season. His .865 OPS trails only Yu Chang, who has a .926 OPS. Moya’s 14 home runs and 71 RBIs lead the CPBL, with nobody else within 25 RBIs of his total.
John Gant took home MVP honors among pitchers. The Wei Chuan Dragons ace posted a 1.37 ERA in 26 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts. Gant has been the best pitcher in the CPBL this season. He has a league-best 1.32 ERA and leads the CPBL with 99 strikeouts.
This past Wednesday, Gant threw another gem against the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions. He went six scoreless innings and struck out seven to help lift the Dragons to a win in a crucial matchup for both teams.
TSG Hawks add former MLB arm
Looking to bolster their rotation as they seek a postseason berth, the Hawks have signed former MLB and KBO pitcher Wilmer Font.
The 36-year-old made 96 appearances in MLB with six franchises. He had a 5.82 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings during his MLB career, in addition to a lengthy minor league career.
After pitching two seasons in the KBO and not appearing in a game in 2023 or 2024, Font has pitched in Venezuela and Mexico over the past two years.
This season with Saltillo in the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol, he posted a 4.91 ERA in 88 innings with 100 strikeouts in the hitter-friendly Mexican league.
Font will make his CPBL debut and will be a key piece as the Hawks try to reach the postseason for the first time as a franchise.
CTBC Brothers coming alive
Arguably the CPBL’s premier franchise this century, the CTBC Brothers struggled massively in the first half and finished in last place at 20-37-2. They also finished last in runs allowed, giving up 44 more runs than the second-to-last team.
A pitching staff with multiple starters returning from last year’s Taiwan Series team had failed to live up to expectations. One of those pitchers was Nivaldo Rodríguez. After being one of the premier pitchers in the CPBL in 2025, he was not quite at the same level in the first half this year.
He has recently returned to form, and the CTBC Brothers’ rotation has suddenly begun to perform at the level that was expected of it.
In Rodríguez’s last two starts, he has thrown 15 innings and allowed just one run. He now has a 3.11 ERA on the season.
In his most recent start, Rodríguez went eight innings and struck out three while allowing one run to lift the Brothers to a sweep of the TSG Hawks. The victory moved the Brothers into fourth place in the second-half standings. They trail the Dragons by two games as they continue to climb the standings.
The Brothers must win the second half to make the playoffs, and with the addition of Jack O’Loughlin, they have the pitching staff to do that.
With Sunday’s 10-2 win over the TSG Hawks, CTBC Brothers manager Keiichi Hirano became the winningest foreign manager in CPBL history with 171 wins.
The Japanese manager spent 14 years as a player in NPB with the Orix BlueWave/Buffaloes and Hanshin Tigers. After six seasons as a coach with Hanshin, he joined the Brothers as a coach before taking over as manager prior to the 2024 season.
He won the Taiwan Series in his first season and was the runner-up in his second. He is 171-149-2 in his three seasons at the helm.
Rakuten leads second-half race
Rakuten leads the CPBL’s second half at 13-9 and has a pivotal week ahead as it tries to hold onto first place.
The Monkeys will play five games against the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions and Wei Chuan Dragons. It will be a defining week for their playoff hopes.
With a weekend series against the Dragons, who trail Rakuten by a half game for first place, the Monkeys could create some distance atop the standings. They will almost certainly have to win the second half to earn a playoff berth.
After a poor first half, Rakuten has turned it on to start the second half and has had the league’s best pitching staff.
Its ace, Pedro Hernández, delivered a gem Tuesday to help lift Rakuten to a big win over the TSG Hawks. He went six innings with four strikeouts, allowing two hits and one run.
After Hernández was dominant and allowed just two runs in 12 innings to help lead Rakuten to the Taiwan Series title last year, the 2025 CPBL MVP has had another outstanding season. He has a 2.08 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings this year.
If Rakuten is going to hold onto the top spot in the second half and defend its title, Hernández will play a big role.
Second-half standings
Rakuten Monkeys — 13-9
Wei Chuan Dragons — 13-10
Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions — 12-11
CTBC Brothers — 11-12
TSG Hawks — 11-13
Fubon Guardians — 8-13
Photo: Wilmer Font with Saltillo during 2026 season. Credit to Liga Mexicana de Béisbol
