Wei-Chung Wang

[Michael Trzinski]

Wei-Chung Wang signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent in 2011 out of Taiwan but after the team found that Wang needed Tommy John surgery, they voided his contract and re-signed him to a new deal. The slender (6-foot-1, 160 pound) southpaw performed well for the Bucs’ Rookie team in the Gulf Coast League in 2013 but was snapped up by the Brewers in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft.

Wang pitched decently in spring training and made his big-league debut for Milwaukee on April 14 against St. Louis. He allowed one hit in an inning of work in a 4-0 loss. Over the first three-plus months of the season, Wang was rarely called upon, appearing in only 13 of the team’s first 93 games before he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder ‘tightness.’ After making seven appearances (six starts) at three minor league stops, Wang pitched in one more game for Milwaukee in September before finishing his season with six starts in the Arizona Fall League.

In 2015, Wang made 25 starts at High-A Brevard County in the Florida State League, winning 10 games and posting a 3.54 ERA. He also made one start at Triple-A Colorado Springs toward the end of the season.

The following season, Wang split time between Double-A Biloxi (19 starts) and Triple-A Colorado Springs (five starts) and had a combined 3.78 ERA and struck out 114 batters in 133.1 innings while walking only 35.

The Brewers decided to convert Wang to relief in 2017 and he made 47 appearances at Colorado Springs, posting a 6-2 record and an ERA of only 2.05 with one save. Called up to Milwaukee in September, Wang epitomized the ‘lefty-one-out-guy’ (LOOGY) as he faced nine batters in eight appearances. Unfortunately, he got lit up, allowing five hits and two runs while posting a 9.91 FIP and a 41 ERA+. The following January, Wang was released by the Brewers.

Wang signed on with the NC Dinos in the KBO League in South Korea. He made 25 starts and posted a 4.26 ERA. In January 2019, the Oakland A’s signed him as a free agent. He began the season at Triple-A but was called up by Oakland in late May. After his first 14 appearances, Wang owned a nifty 1.47 ERA. But then reality hit as Wang got knocked around in his next six outings, when he allowed 13 hits, seven runs, and five walks and saw his ERA balloon to 3.33. Oakland DFA’d Wang in late August and he was quickly scooped up by the Pirates, who were willing to give him another chance. He fared no better, posting a 6.75 ERA in five appearances. He was released after the season.

Wang was drafted by the Wei Chuan Dragons in the Chinese Professional Baseball League first overall in the 2020 CPBL draft and he has been pitching for them ever since.

In parts of three major league seasons, Wang made 47 appearances and compiled a 3-0 record, an ERA of 6.52, ERA+ of 65 and a FIP of 6.18.

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