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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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for the

Rakuten Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly known as La New Bears (2004–2010) and Lamigo Monkeys (2011–2019), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administered by the Japanese technol ...

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 has previously played in

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(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 a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

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 a 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 home games a ...

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 of the National League in Major League Baseball. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games a ...

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

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, 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. T ...

, 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. Tseng's first career strikeout was against Travis d'Arnaud of the

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

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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.

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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 Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

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 for 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 Co ...

and the

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, but spent most of the year on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. On November 4, 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 national baseball team ( zh, t=中華臺北棒球代表隊, p=Zhōnghuá Táiběi Bàngqiú Dàibiǎoduì) is the national men's baseball team of Taiwan. It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is r ...

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 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

. 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

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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, Schoenberge ...

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. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

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, 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 spee ...

, and a

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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