Chih-Wei Hu

Chih-Wei Hu (Chinese: 胡智為; born November 4, 1993) is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Chih-Wei Hu
Chih-Wei Hu with the Tampa Bay Rays
Uni-President Lions – No. 58
Pitcher
Born: (1993-11-04) November 4, 1993 (age 30) Taichung, Taiwan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Professional debut
MLB: April 24, 2017, for the Tampa Bay Rays
CPBL: August 29, 2021, for the Uni-President Lions
MLB statistics (through 2018 season)
Win–loss record	1–1
Earned run average	3.52
Strikeouts	21
CPBL statistics (through 2022 season)
Win–loss record	13–17
Earned run average	3.75
Strikeouts	136
Teams
Tampa Bay Rays (2017–2018) Uni-President Lions (2021–present)
Medals Representing  Chinese Taipei Men's baseball Asian Games 2014 Incheon Team

Career

Minnesota Twins

 

Hu pitching for the Minnesota Twins in 2015

Hu was signed by the Minnesota Twins organization as an international free agent on August 3, 2012. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the Gulf Coast Twins, posting a 2.45 ERA in 12 appearances. In 2014, he pitched with the rookie-level Elizabethton Twins and Single-A Cedar Rapids Kernels, logging a cumulative 8–2 record and 2.15 ERA in 13 games, 12 of them starts.^[1] Hu began the 2015 season with the High-A Fort Myers Miracle, and also pitched in 1 game for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.^[2]

Tampa Bay Rays

 

Hu pitching for the Durham Bulls in 2017

On July 31, 2015, the Twins traded Hu and Alexis Tapia to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Kevin Jepsen.^[3] He finished the year with the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs, but struggled to an 0–3 record and 7.36 ERA in 5 games. In 2016, Hu split the season between the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits and the Triple-A Durham Bulls, recording a 7–9 record and 2.75 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 147.1 innings of work.^[4] Hu was named to the roster of the World team for the 2016 All-Star Futures Game.^[5] The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the season.^[6]

Hu began the 2017 season with Durham before being promoted to the major leagues for the first time on April 23. He made his MLB debut the following day, pitching a scoreless innings of relief against the Baltimore Orioles. He finished his rookie season with a 1–1 record and 2.70 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 10.0 innings of work across 6 appearances. In 2018, Hu spent the majority of the year in Durham, but recorded a 4.15 ERA in 5 appearances with the Rays.^[7]

Cleveland Indians

On November 19, 2018, Hu was traded to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for minor league infielder Gionti Turner.^[8] Hu was assigned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to begin the 2019 season. On July 3, 2019, he was designated for assignment by the Indians without having appeared in a game for the team.^[9] He was outrighted to Columbus, and later demoted to the Double-A Akron RubberDucks before being released by the Indians on July 30.

Chicago Cubs

On August 8, 2019, Hu signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs organization.^[10] He finished the year in Chicago's minor league system, posting a 2–2 record between the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and the Double-A Tennessee Smokies. On November 4, 2019, he elected free agency.

San Diego Padres

On December 19, 2019, Hu signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres organization.^[11] Hu did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12] On November 2, 2020, he elected free agency.

In June 2021, an unnamed team in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) made an offer to sign Hu, but the amount was not enough to convince Hu to go overseas and he did not sign with the team.^[13]

Uni-President Lions

On July 1, 2021, Hu announced that he would enter the mid-season draft in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).^[14] He was selected fourth overall by the Uni-President Lions.^[15]

International career

He played for Chinese Taipei at the 2014 Asian Games.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players from Taiwan

References

1. "Minnesota Twins prospect Chih-Wei Hu continues his winning ways with the Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels — MiLB.com News — The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
2. "Tom Powers: Twins' 'Mr. Hu' has created a major buzz". TwinCities.com. 15 March 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
3. "Twins trade for Rays reliever Kevin Jepsen — HardballTalk". nbcsports.com. July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
4. "Chih-Wei Hu Minor, Winter & Fall Leagues Statistics & History".
5. "2016 Futures Game Rosters". Baseball America. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
6. . www.tampabay.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-19.
7. "Chih-Wei Hu Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
8. "Cleveland Indians trade for Tampa Bay right-hander Chih-Wei Hu". 19 November 2018.
9. RotoWire Staff (July 3, 2019). "Indians' Chih-Wei Hu: Designated for assignment". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
10. Polishuk, Mark (August 8, 2019). "Cubs Sign Chih-Wei Hu To Minors Deal". MLB Trade Rumors.
11. "Padres Sign Chih-Wei Hu". 19 December 2019.
12. "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". 30 June 2020.
13. @GOCPBL (6 July 2021). "According to ETtoday, an unnamed NPB team made an offer to sign 胡智為 (Hu Chih-Wei) back in June. However, the amount…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. @GOCPBL (1 July 2021). "Former MLB right-hander 胡智為 (Hu Chih-Wei) announced he will enter the 2021 mid-season draft. Hu is very likely to b…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
15. Hsieh, Ching-wen; Yeh, Joseph (12 July 2021). "Ex-minor league fireballer No. 1 pick in Taiwan baseball draft". Central News Agency. Retrieved 12 July 2021.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Chih-Wei Hu on Facebook