nomar
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Post by nomar on Oct 23, 2019 7:59:11 GMT -5
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Post by grandsalami on Oct 23, 2019 8:02:07 GMT -5
Wait. He is 2? And he can pitch? That’s awesome. |
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nomar
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Posts: 10,704
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Post by nomar on Oct 23, 2019 8:03:34 GMT -5
Very talented toddler
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Post by James Dunne on Oct 23, 2019 8:10:08 GMT -5
Looks like he pitched twice in this month's recent Asian Championship tournament. I have him at 2 1/3 innings, four strikeouts, one walk, no hits. He pitched against South Korea in the playoff round and Japan during the initial round robin, so those certainly weren't the scrub games. It does not appear that he played in the field or got any plate appearances. I can't find a box score on the final game though.
EDIT: 2 1/3 with 5 K's in the championship game. So 9 Ks in 4 2/3 in the tournament, not bad.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Oct 23, 2019 8:35:16 GMT -5
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redsox04071318champs
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Always hoping to make my handle even longer...
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2019 8:39:10 GMT -5
Really interesting signing, somebody we'll all be excited to follow. Let the Ohtani comparisons begin!!! I'm just kidding about that.
Glad to see the Red Sox active in the international market in this way. Really, really interesting.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Oct 23, 2019 9:02:31 GMT -5
If he's under 25 then the Sox had IFA money available ? It's a question, not a statement.
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Post by jimed14 on Oct 23, 2019 9:05:14 GMT -5
I watched the one video of him pitching and he threw all fastballs with one slider. He was sitting 93-96 mph. So I'm not sure if he's going to be a pitcher. Be interesting to see where he slides into the rankings. Perhaps Tzu-Wei Lin helped the Sox out in signing him.
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Post by James Dunne on Oct 23, 2019 9:07:24 GMT -5
If he's under 25 then the Sox had IFA money available ? It's a question, not a statement. Yes, quite a bit. By my count there was possibly as much as $2.6M remaining before inking Liu. |
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Post by Oregon Norm on Oct 23, 2019 9:15:27 GMT -5
One of the clips has him playing SS and making a leaping catch, with enough presence of mind to quickly flip to second where they almost get the runner who was off base. Impressive. The commentary says he plays middle infield and has "a decent arm"... funny. |
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Oct 23, 2019 9:16:53 GMT -5
If he's under 25 then the Sox had IFA money available ? It's a question, not a statement. Yes, quite a bit. By my count there was possibly as much as $2.6M remaining before inking Liu. I've been looking but our IFA page is showing a lot of blanks so, no way to know from here. We also haven't traded for any IFA money. Maybe this is the sort of signing the Sox were hoping to find and be in a position to do something about it. |
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Post by James Dunne on Oct 23, 2019 9:40:40 GMT -5
This looks like their first international signing from Taiwan since Tzu-Wei Lin in June 2012 (right before the new bonus structure went into effect). They were very active there from 2005 to 2008.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Oct 23, 2019 10:05:12 GMT -5
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Post by ramireja on Oct 23, 2019 11:27:57 GMT -5
Topping out at 98MPH seems to be the consensus report, but worth noting some scouts reporting 101MPH. This is a really exciting arm to add to this international class.
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Post by James Dunne on Oct 23, 2019 12:05:45 GMT -5
I watched the one video of him pitching and he threw all fastballs with one slider. He was sitting 93-96 mph. So I'm not sure if he's going to be a pitcher. Be interesting to see where he slides into the rankings. Perhaps Tzu-Wei Lin helped the Sox out in signing him. The second video (right above the "Liu’s Velocity Touches 158kph (98mph) subheadline) definitely shows him mixing in a changeup. He throws a nice one at 80/81mph at 0:46. |
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Post by Oregon Norm on Oct 23, 2019 13:06:17 GMT -5
Abraham's tweet is a thin take on the full story. Here's a few paragraphs, important ones, from your link above: Someone needs to thank that coach. He knows what he's doing. |
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Oct 23, 2019 15:48:49 GMT -5
Independently confirmed (sent email before Pete tweeted) that he's agreed to terms and as a pitcher.
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Post by ramireja on Oct 23, 2019 18:48:22 GMT -5
Looks like he pitched twice in this month's recent Asian Championship tournament. I have him at 2 1/3 innings, four strikeouts, one walk, no hits. He pitched against South Korea in the playoff round and Japan during the initial round robin, so those certainly weren't the scrub games. It does not appear that he played in the field or got any plate appearances. I can't find a box score on the final game though. EDIT: 2 1/3 with 5 K's in the championship game. So 9 Ks in 4 2/3 in the tournament, not bad. Noted by Abraham, but his performance earned him MVP honors of the tournament. Really impressive showing and honor for a kid his age. This seems like a really good investment of $750K in international money. |
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Post by lennsakata on Oct 23, 2019 21:11:09 GMT -5
One of the graphic overlays has him at 181 cm and 68kg at age 20, which I guess is 5’11 and 150 lbs according to my google math. Given his size and previous arm troubles I’m thinking he’s likely a bullpen arm...maybe piggyback starter for the short term in Greenville to get multiple innings and leave the door open to start while getting some innings
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Post by ramireja on Oct 25, 2019 10:12:14 GMT -5
Slider + Changeup looks
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Post by James Dunne on Oct 25, 2019 10:19:49 GMT -5
That appears to be the same changeup that I referenced above. There wasn't a lot of video but I thought it was more impressive than a lot of the sliders I saw from him, which he seemed to roll a little but got swings and misses on anyway. But he's also 20, so "inconsistent with his slider" is something that's to be expected.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Oct 25, 2019 12:35:50 GMT -5
Both of those pitches are impressive. The best thing, from the limited (gif-based) vantage point, is that the arm motion for both looks nearly identical. He seems advanced for a 20-year old.
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radiohix
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'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
Posts: 6,207
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Post by radiohix on Oct 25, 2019 12:43:24 GMT -5
If I have to choose for a prospect who throws hard which second pitch he masters better, I'll always go for the changeup because of the platoon thing.
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Post by orion09 on Oct 25, 2019 14:11:03 GMT -5
Here are more looks at the fastball and slider. 4FB, 96 mph:  2FB, 88 mph:  Slider, 83 mph:  Slider, 82 mph:  |
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Post by jimed14 on Oct 25, 2019 14:14:27 GMT -5
I'm kind of surprised the Sox got him for so cheap. Seems like he'd be hyped a little more.
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