The Best Tribe Prospect You Do Not Know To Garner Much Offseason Attention

After toiling away in anonymity his first two seasons in professional baseball, Chun-Hsiu Chen, 21, has posted numbers guaranteed to vault his status among the game’s top catching prospects. 

The Indians signed the Taiwanese backstop in September 2007 for $300,000 after he  grabbed headlines the previous season during the World Junior Championships. 

Chen, a dominant force in the batter’s box and on the mound, hit .417, slugged .500, and his fastball clocked as high as 92 mph. 

The team sent the young backstop to the Gulf Coast League, where he had a modest showing as a hitter, .261/.336/.409, and as a defender.  In 31 games behind the plate, Chen threw out 30  percent of base runners and committed four errors. 

Chen was promoted to low-A Mahoning Valley the following season and promptly struggled in most facets of the game. 

He often looked overmatched at the plate and the lack of experience on defense became apparent.  In 231 plate appearances, Chen hit a miserable .215/.328/.308 and committed seven errors and allowed nine passed balls.

The highlight of an otherwise lost season was his ability to rely on one aspect of his God-given talent: his arm.  The former high school ace threw out an incredible 42 percent (22 of 53) base runners during the season. 

Team decision makers, in one of the most underrated moves of the 2009-10 offseason, astutely promoted him to Lake County for the following season despite his obvious struggles. 

Chen did not disappoint.

In 240 plate appearances, he battered and abused A-ball pitchers on his way to hitting .312/.368/.518.  Power, his most attractive tool in high school, began to develop. 

Scouts, as a precursor to home runs, look for doubles in young hitters, and Chen morphed into an extra base machine. He hit 21 doubles, 3 triples, and 6 homers for an isolate power (ISO.) of .206. 

He continued to hit after a promotion and finished with a line of .320/.442/.523 in high-A Kinston. 

Below are Chen’s stats for the 2010 season.

The Indians already have their catcher of future in Carlos Santana but, Chen’s continued development could create a problem team officials would love: two middle of the order, power-hitting catchers. 

Prior to the season, Chun-Hsiu Chen did not even make Baseball America’s top 30 Indians prospects but, expect that change.  Chen will vault up the team’s list and could crack the top 5, or possibly top 3, prospects. 

Sunnier days are coming for Cleveland fans, and Chun-Hsiu Chen is just another reason for optimism. 

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