This year, a combined 65 Asian players are competing in Major League Baseball and the minor leagues, or have recently signed their first professional contract.
Here’s the breakdown by country:
- Taiwan – 23 players
- China – 2 players
- South Korea – 15 players
- Japan – 25 players
Taiwan – Houston Astros right-hander Kai-Wei Teng and Detroit Tigers infielder Hao-Yu Lee are the two current Taiwanese Major Leaguers.
Lee is the Tigers’ fifth-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline, and Teng may soon be moved to a full-time starting role with the Astros.
There are four Taiwanese players in Triple-A, five in Double-A, three in High-A, four in Single-A, and six in rookie ball.
China – There are just two Chinese players in affiliated baseball.
Left-hander Zack Qin attended the MLB China Academy and has reached as high as Single-A in the San Diego Padres system.
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed 6-foot-7 right-hander Mingxuan Zhang, 18, shortly after the 2026 international signing period opened.
South Korea – There were four current Major Leaguers on Opening Day rosters from South Korea: Infielders Ha-Seong Kim (Atlanta Braves) and Hyeseong Kim (Los Angeles Dodgers), and outfielders Rob Refsnyder (Seattle Mariners) and Jung Hoo Lee (San Francisco Giants).
Padres infielder Sung-Mon Song made his MLB debut as a pinch runner in April and went 2-for-4 with a go-ahead two-run double against the Giants on Tuesday.
Before Song’s promotion, there was one other South Korean player in Triple-A, two in Double-A, one in High-A, two in Double-A, and five in rookie ball.
Japan – There are 14 current Japanese-born players on active Major League rosters, with the Dodgers’ two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani among the most notable. Rookies include corner infielder Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox), third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto Blue Jays), and right-hander Tatsuya Imai (Houston Astros).
Including Ohtani, 10 of the 14 Japanese players in MLB are pitchers. Rounding out the position player group are outfielders Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox) and Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs).
White Sox second baseman Rikuu Nishida is the only current Japanese player competing in Triple-A. There are two Japanese players in Double-A, four in Single-A, two in rookie ball, and outfielder Kotaro Tsunematsu (Cubs) and right-hander Alexandre Moreti (Philadelphia Phillies) signed contracts following the opening of the international signing period.
Photo: Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami gestures toward the mound as he runs to force out Los Angeles Angels’ Oswald Peraza at first during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
