The Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) XIII U-18 Baseball World Cup concluded earlier this month. According to Francys Romero, the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team Orix Buffaloes signed Taiwanese right-handed pitcher Chen Mu-Heng after his strong performance in that tournament. He received interest from both the MLB and NPB and ended up with a signing bonus estimated at approximately 500,000 USD to join the Buffaloes.
Heng is just 18 years old and most recently pitched at the BFA XIII U-18 Baseball World Cup, taking place in Asia. Chinese Taipei took first place in the tournament, defeating Japan in the final 6-1. Heng pitched in the first game of the World Cup facing Korea, where he threw for five and a third innings, allowing two hits and walking one batter while striking out seven batters, as Chinese Taipei held on for a 1-0 victory.
In his second outing, Heng suited up for an outing against Japan. He would fire four hitless innings, only walking one batter and striking out two. Unfortunately, Japan would go on to win this game, shutting out Chinese Taipei 1-0. Those would be the only games that Heng would pitch during the action.
Heng’s fastball reached as high as 94 miles per hour during these games. The decision comes after receiving interest from several MLB teams. Heng decides to stay in Asia and join the NPB.
Photo Courtesy of CPBL Stats on X
