Taiwanese prospect Wei-En Lin's Triple-A debut ends in rough outing

Taiwanese pitching prospect Wei-En Lin experienced a difficult introduction to Triple-A baseball on Saturday, getting pulled from his debut after just two-thirds of an inning. Lin, who recently earned a promotion to the Oakland Athletics' top minor league affiliate, became the youngest and fastest Taiwanese player to reach the Triple-A level.

Facing the Arizona Diamondbacks' Triple-A team, Lin struck out the first batter he faced. However, his command faltered, leading to a walk. He then allowed two consecutive singles, loading the bases. A subsequent walk forced in his first earned run in Triple-A. The situation worsened when veteran shortstop Andrew Velazquez hit a bases-clearing triple off a 91.9 mph fastball, driving in three more runs.

Lin was removed from the game without completing the first inning. A teammate who replaced him allowed another run, which was charged to Lin. In total, he threw 38 pitches, 22 for strikes, and recorded one strikeout against three walks. His fastest pitch was clocked at 93.5 mph (150.4 km/h). He was charged with 5 earned runs, resulting in a staggering 67.50 ERA for his debut.

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Wei-En Lin （No. 4 #Athletics prospect/No. 91 overall） gets his first Triple-A strikeout on the first batter of the game, Kristian Robinson. 78.7 mph changeup on the black. After review, it’s official.