Jen-Ho Tseng

Jen-Ho Tseng (Chinese: 曾仁和; born 3 October 1994) is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs. He currently plays in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) for the Auckland Tuatara.

Jen-Ho Tseng
Tseng pitching for the Tennessee Smokies in 2016
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1994-10-03) 3 October 1994
Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 14, 2017, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Win–loss record1–0
Earned run average9.00
Strikeouts11
Teams

Career

Chicago Cubs

Tseng was signed by the Chicago Cubs as a non-drafted free agent on July 25, 2013.[1] Tseng spent 2014 with the Kane County Cougars where he posted a 6–1 record with a 2.40 ERA.[2] In 2015, Tseng pitched for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans where he posted a 3.55 ERA, and in 2016, he pitched for the Tennessee Smokies, where he posted a 4.26 ERA.[3][2]

In 2017, he started the season with the Tennessee Smokies and was elevated to the AAA Iowa Cubs where his combined record was 13–4 with a 2.54 ERA.[4][5] On September 13, 2017, he was named the Cubs minor league pitcher of the year.[6] He was called to the majors to make his Major League debut with the Cubs on September 14, 2017 against the New York Mets. Tseng's first career strikeout was against Travis d'Arnaud of the New York Mets on September 14, 2017.[7][8] Tseng had a rough start, however, dropping a relay throw from Anthony Rizzo to field a ground ball. Tseng allowed five runs, including back-to-back homers from d'Arnaud and Dominic Smith. However, the Cubs stormed back to win 14-6.

MLB.com ranked Tseng as Chicago's twelfth best prospect going into the 2018 season.[9] He was designated for assignment on April 6, 2019.[10][11] Tseng was released on April 11.

Texas Rangers

Tseng signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on April 17, 2019.[12] After pitching one game apiece with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders and the Rangers' Rookie League team, Tseng spent most of the year on the disabled list. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[13]

Auckland Tuatara

Tseng joined the Auckland Tuatara of the Australian Baseball League in January 2020 for the 2019/2020 season.

International career

Tseng represented Chinese Taipei national baseball team at the 2011 Asian Junior Championship, 2012 World Junior Baseball Championship, 2012 Asian Baseball Championship, 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers and 2013 World Baseball Classic.

He debuted for the national team when he was just 18 years old. His sister also pitched for Taiwan's women national team.

Tseng was 0–1 with a 1.80 ERA in the 2011 Asian Junior Championship.

In the 2012 World Junior Baseball Championship, he was superb at 3–0, 0.84 with a save. In 21 1/3 innings, he fanned 22 and allowed only 12 hits and 2 walks. He beat Canada, South Korea and Colombia. He was second in the event in strikeouts (four behind Shintaro Fujinami), led in wins and tied Jae-min Shim for the most appearances (6). He was named the tourney's All-Star relief pitcher.

Jen-Ho then was the only high schooler picked for Taiwan's squad in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, 3 1/2 years younger than Yao-Lin Wang, the next-youngest). He made his lone appearance in their 9–0 win over New Zealand in the finale. Relieving Kai-Wen Cheng with a 7–0 lead in the 7th, he retired Moko Moanaroa then walked Beau Bishop. Tseng recovered to fan two players with minor league experience in the Alan Schoenberger and Tim Auty, to end the inning. He was replaced by Yen-Feng Lin in the 8th. He remained with Taiwan for the 2012 Asian Baseball Championship, going 1–0 and tossing six shutout innings; he beat rival South Korea to help ensure Taiwan getting a Silver Medal and Korea the Bronze.

Pitching style

Tseng is a 6 ft 1 in, 210 lb right-handed pitcher. He throws a fastball around 90 mph (tops out at 95), knuckle-curve, sinker, changeup, and a cutter.[14]

Personal life

Jen-Ho Tseng's older sister Tseng Chi is also a professional baseball player.[15][16]

See also

References
  1. "Cubs Sign Jen-Ho Tseng". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  2. "Jen-Ho Tseng Minor Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  3. "Jen-Ho Tseng Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  4. "Cubs Minor League Daily: Tseng To Iowa, Sudden Free Agent High School Pitcher". Bleacher Nation | Chicago Cubs News, Rumors, and Commentary. 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  5. "Iowa Cubs' Jen-Ho Tseng draws comparisons to Kyle Hendricks". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  6. Skrbina, Paul. "Cubs name Victor Caratini, Jen-Ho Tseng minor-league player, pitcher of the year". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  7. Skrbina, Paul. "There's a new starter in town for Cubs — for now — Jen-Ho Tseng". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  8. "Cubs Announce Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year: Victor Caratini, Jen-Ho Tseng". Bleacher Nation | Chicago Cubs News, Rumors, and Commentary. 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  9. "Cubs' Top 30 Prospects list reflects focus on pitching". MLB.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  10. Bastian, Jordan (April 6, 2019). "Cubs option struggling Edwards to Triple-A". MLB.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  11. Rogers, Jesse (April 6, 2019). "Cubs make moves, shuffle beleaguered bullpen". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  12. "Rangers' Jen-Ho Tseng: Signs with Rangers". CBS Sports. April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  13. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  14. "Getting to Know Tonight's Cubs Starter: Rookie Jen-Ho Tseng". Bleacher Nation | Chicago Cubs News, Rumors, and Commentary. 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  15. Yeh, Joseph (4 February 2018). "Taiwanese 'trailblazers' join Japan's women's pro baseball league". Central News Agency. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  16. Neo, Mabel (5 February 2018). "Taiwanese Pride! These ladies are joining the Japan's Women's Professional Baseball League". Taiwan News. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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