Taiwanese amateur Tzu-Wei Lin was signed by the Boston Red Sox to a contract that includes a $2.05-mil. signing bonus. Lin will make his US pro debut with the Sox farm team Fort Myers in the Gulf Coast League.
The Red Sox are betting that the 18-year-old speedster with a proven knack for driving into gaps and a stinging throwing arm has what it takes to be the shortstop the team has lacked for so long.
Lin is considered a “burner” who scored a 7 on the 2-8 major league scouting speed scale in which 5 is considered average. He has been clocked running from home to first in under 3.9 seconds and as fast as 3.79 seconds on occasion. Anything under 4 seconds is considered exceptionally fast.
Lin also scored well for his base-running instincts. He’s also a defensive standout with great hands and a potent throwing arm. When Lin played at the IBAF World Junior Championship in 2010, he hit .607/.656/.907 in 32 appearances at the plate and was named tournament MVP.
At around 5-9, 155 pounds Lin is considered on the small side but he hits like a bigger player and has proven himself in international tournaments against top US pitching prospects.
Lin had been wooed by a number of major league teams. He went with the Red Sox because the team has a track record of developing Taiwanese amateur talent, including outfielders Che-Hsuan Lin and Chih-Hsien Chiang.
Lin’s $2.05-mil. signing bonus is the second-highest ever paid a Taiwanese player after the $2.2 million paid by the Colorado Rockies to pitcher Tsao Chin-hui in 1999. It’s also the biggest bonus ever paid by the Red Sox to any amateur from Asia.
Lin was about to be signed by the New York Yankees to a $350,000 contract in 2010 until Taiwan’s Chinese Taipei Baseball Association threatened to bar Lin from playing or coaching in Taiwan if he signed before graduating from high school.
