Chicago Cubs Pitching Prospect Jen-Ho Tseng Gets An Outpouring of Love

taiwan flagDuring last Summer’s international spend-fest, the Chicago Cubs signed 18-year-old Taiwanese righty Jen-Ho Tseng for $1.625 million. The now 19-year-old was expected to be among the top prospects in the international class, given that he was already pitching in international competitions, and sported a mid-90s fastball with a couple plus secondary pitches. But then his velocity fell, he looked bad in the World Baseball Classic, and he wound up not even being on some of the top prospect lists coming into last year’s signing period.

The Cubs stuck with him, however, and his stuff ticked back up in June and July, just before he signed. Apparently that has carried forward, because crews from Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus were both in Mesa this weekend observing prospects, and they seemed to focus on one arm they saw: Tseng.

First, here’s a full scouting report from Ben Badler, including video (look at that curveball to the first batt, man! That’s literal knee-buckling right there). It’s a great read, and among Badler’s thoughts:

Right now, Tseng appears to be back on track. Pitching for three innings on Sunday against a travel team of Dominican amateur players from the International Prospect League, Tseng threw 89-93 mph, mostly in the higher end of that range for the first two innings. He mixed in an above-average curveball that mostly registered at 75, though he added and subtracted with the pitch. He threw plenty of strikes with his curveball, which had good depth and late, sharp bite. He buckled the knees of back-to-back hitters for strikeouts at one point, and while the hitters he’s facing were mostly 15- and 16-year-old boys, the fastball and curveball were quality pitches regardless of who he was facing.

Badler concludes by saying that Tseng has the mix of pitches and stuff to be a future big league pitcher. That may not sound like much, but we’re talking about a 19-year-old who hasn’t yet pitched in a stateside league. That praise is plenty.

And then there’s the report from Baseball Prospectus’s Mark Anderson, who says in part:

Tseng surprised over the weekend with an extremely impressive three-inning stint against the International Prospect League squad in Mesa. Tseng came out pumping 91-92 mph fastballs with precision, touching 94 in his first inning of work. He moved the ball from side to side with ease, elevated when he wanted to, and generally worked the knees against overmatched young hitters. His changeup was firm on the couple of occasions he mixed it in, thrown in the 81-83 mph range, all the while showing late sink reminiscent of a quality splitter. The arm speed and slot are identical to the fastball and you can see at least a plus future for the pitch. Tseng’s curveball stole the show as the outing extended, transforming from a loopier breaking ball that was easily spotted out of the hand to a tight hammer breaker that looked the part of yet another future plus secondary pitch.

Anderson guesses that Tseng could handle full-season ball already, which means he could start out in Kane County’s rotation. That’s impressive, again, for a 19-year-old with no significant stateside experience.

Check out some of the thoughts from folks in attendance as they were watching Tseng, which gives you an even better sense of how good he looked:

https://twitter.com/ProfessorParks/status/445305123057590272

https://twitter.com/ProfessorParks/status/445337027978854400

In a discussion chain involving Sahadev Sharma, Parks went on to say that he also thinks Tseng looks like a full-season arm at this point (a ceiling of a 2/3 – that’s high praise), and would now rank Tseng in the Cubs’ top ten prospects. Think about that. That puts Tseng right up there with the top arms in the Cubs’ system, and immediately behind Pierce Johnson and C.J. Edwards.

Schwing.

written by

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

more cubs news

Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

The 2024 Chicago Cubs for Dummies

Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...

Why Craig Counsell Wanted Miles Mastrobuoni on the Cubs’ Bench

I don't know why Miles Mastrobuoni bugs some folks, but it's probably heavily-weighted toward his small-sample, bad-batted-ball-luck start last year, and that time he didn't dive while playing in right field. It can be hard to shake initial impressions, I...

Kinda Sounds Like Craig Counsell May Have a Set Top Three in the Batting Order

New Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has said, generally, his batting order philosophy is the very simplistic (and very correct): just get your best hitters the most at bats. Sure, there's some play in that to set up good match-ups,...

Los Angeles Dodgers Signing Will Smith to a TEN-YEAR Extension

The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again. And by it, I mean they have signed a funkily-structured contract that is going to leave some folks annoyed. The Dodgers are extending catcher Will Smith on a DECADE-long deal with a...

The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview

On Monday, during a team-building conversation with some of the Bleacher Nation and Betsperts Media Group folks, we discussed sports—shocking, I know—and Brian Twining asked the group what their favorite sport was. For me, it's baseball. There's no debate. I...

We Have to Talk About Some of the “Deals” the Cubs Sat Out in Free Agency

This week, in a conversation with Jon Greenberg at The Athletic, Cubs President Jed Hoyer made an honest and sober (but also moderately disappointing) admission about the 2024 Chicago Cubs: "We need to perform probably at or a little bit...

The Chicago Cubs Are Reportedly Now Worth Over $5 Billion

Given all the tumult in the baseball broadcasting world, and the uncertain future for that portion of revenues, you'd be forgiven for expecting that MLB franchise valuations would slow their recent surge. But, according to Sportico at least, you'd be...

Reds Second Baseman Matt McLain Had Shoulder Surgery

The injury to Matt McLain's shoulder issue obviously wound up being worse than he and the Cincinnati Reds had been hoping. The damage to his left (non-throwing) labrum ultimately required surgery: https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1772993402604339478 When the hope is that a guy can...

Cubs Actually Getting a Whole Lot of Votes to Win the NL Central

ESPN dropped its big season preview, and included were a set of divisional predictions by way of their writers, editors, and analysts voting. There's nothing in the way of proof or certainty there, but with 26 voters, I do like...

Latest News

Orioles vs. Angels Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

The Baltimore Orioles (0-0) open their 2024 season with a home game against the Los Angeles Angels (0-0) on Thursday, with first pitch at 3:05 PM ET.The Orioles will call on Corbin Burnes versus the Angels and Patrick Sandoval.Orioles vs....

Celtics vs. Hawks Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats and Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Atlanta Hawks (33-39) are big, 17.5-point underdogs as they attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Boston Celtics (57-15) on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at State Farm Arena. The matchup airs at 7:30 PM...

Celtics vs. Hawks Predictions, Best Bets and Odds – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Atlanta Hawks (33-39) are big, 17.5-point underdogs as they attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Boston Celtics (57-15) on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at State Farm Arena. The contest airs at 7:30 PM...

Bucks vs. Pelicans Predictions, Best Bets and Odds – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The New Orleans Pelicans (44-28) are only 2-point underdogs against the Milwaukee Bucks (46-26) at Smoothie King Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024. The game begins at 8:00 PM ET on NBA. The matchup's point total is 223.If you are...

How to Watch Indiana State Sycamores vs. Utah Utes: Live Stream or on TV

The Indiana State Sycamores (31-6) will attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Utah Utes (22-14) on April 2, 2024. The Utes have also won three games in a row.Indiana State won its most recent...

How to Watch Seton Hall Pirates vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Live Stream or on TV

The Seton Hall Pirates (23-12) will attempt to extend a three-game win streak when they host the Georgia Bulldogs (20-16) on April 2, 2024. The Bulldogs have also won three games in a row.In its previous game, Seton Hall beat...

Diamondbacks vs. Rockies: Start Time, Streaming Live, TV Channel, How to Watch

The Arizona Diamondbacks, led by Corbin Carroll, take on Nolan Jones and the Colorado Rockies in their first game of the season, at 10:10 PM ET on Thursday.Keep reading to find out all the details on how to watch Arizona...

How to Watch Mariners vs. Red Sox: Live Stream or on TV

Luis Castillo will take the ball for the Seattle Mariners when they square off against starting pitcher Brayan Bello and the Boston Red Sox in their season opener on Thursday, with first pitch at 10:10 PM ET.The article below will...

Guardians vs. Athletics: Free Live Stream, TV Channel, How to Watch

The Cleveland Guardians, led by Jose Ramirez, square off against Brent Rooker and the Oakland Athletics in their first game of the season, at 10:07 PM ET on Thursday.If you're trying to watch this game, keep reading for streaming and...

Senators vs. Blackhawks Prediction: Odds, Picks, Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The sportsbooks pick the Ottawa Senators to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in their matchup on Thursday, March 28, with the Senators given moneyline odds of -198 on home ice, and the Blackhawks at +164.Senators vs. Blackhawks Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Senators...

more cubs news