Jen-Ho Tseng (; born 3 October 1994) is a

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Rakuten Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly First Financial Holdings Agan (, abbreviated ), La New Bears () and then the Lamigo Monkeys (), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administer ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL). He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Career

Chicago Cubs

Tseng was signed by the

as a non-drafted free agent on July 25, 2013. Tseng spent 2014 with the Single-A

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

where he posted a 6–1 record with a 2.40 ERA. In 2015, Tseng pitched for the High-A

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

where he posted a 3.55 ERA, and in 2016, he pitched for the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

, where he posted a 4.26 ERA. In 2017, he started the season with Tennessee and was elevated to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

, where his combined record was 13–4 with a 2.54 ERA. On September 13, 2017, he was named the Cubs minor league pitcher of the year. He was called to the majors to make his Major League debut with the Cubs on September 14, 2017 against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Tseng's first career strikeout was against

Travis d'Arnaud Travis Emmanuel d'Arnaud (born February 10, 1989), nicknamed Lil D, is an American professional baseball catcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the supplemental first round o ...

of the

on September 14, 2017. Tseng had a rough start, however, dropping a relay throw from

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He is a three-time ...

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 MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

ranked Tseng as Chicago's twelfth best prospect going into the 2018 season. Tseng spent the majority of the season in Iowa, where he struggled to a 2-15 record and 6.27 ERA in 26 starts. In his only appearance for the Cubs, Tseng allowed 3 runs in 2.0 innings of work. On April 6, 2019, Tseng was designated for assignment by Chicago. Tseng was released by the Cubs organization on April 11.

Texas Rangers

On April 17, 2019, Tseng signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. Tseng pitched one game apiece with the Low-A

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

and the Rangers' Rookie League team, the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

, but spent most of the year on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. On November 4, 2019, he elected free agency.

Rakuten Monkeys

On July 1, 2021, Tseng announced that he would enter the mid-season draft in the

(CPBL). On July 11, Tseng was selected by the

with the team's third pick in the draft.

International career

Tseng represented

Chinese Taipei national baseball team The Chinese Taipei baseball team () is the national men's baseball team of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked second in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confeder ...

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 The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

. 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 New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 Alan Schoenberger (born 19 January 1989 in Brisbane, Australia) is an Australian infielder who had played for the Queensland Rams and with the Lakewood BlueClaws of the Philadelphia Phillies organisation. In the 2010 Claxton Shield, Schoenberg ...

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 South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

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 In Major League history, the term knuckle curve or knuckle curveball has been used to describe three entirely different pitches. All are unrelated to the similar sounding knuckleball. The first, more modern and commonly used pitch called the kn ...

, sinker,

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, and a cutter.

Personal life

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

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tseng, Jen-Ho 1994 births Living people Baseball players from Kaohsiung Chicago Cubs players Iowa Cubs players Kane County Cougars players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Taiwan Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Spokane Indians players Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Tennessee Smokies players Rakuten Monkeys players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Auckland Tuatara players Expatriate baseball players in New Zealand Taiwanese expatriates in New Zealand