JaleelWhite FanClub

Thanks for picking up Batts. He was too good not to get an adoption. I am excited to follow his season. Being a short lefty starter makes him pretty unique in the system. So far he is putting up some good numbers. Strong AVG, WHIP, and K/BB. His numbers are actually pretty similar to Hu's in Ft. Myers.

It was a short start for Hu as the Miracle bats finally came alive. Hu got plenty of early offensive support, so it had to be an easy decision to limit him to just 5 IP. He only threw 79 pitches and got 11 of the 15 outs via ground balls. Here are his season totals. 5 GS, 4-0 (W-L), 1.24 ERA, 29.0 IP, 30 K, 4 BB, .184 AVG, 0.79 WHIP Watching his K totals will be interesting and give a good estimate on whether he's ready to advance. His other numbers, especially WHIP, AVG, and K/BB say he is excelling at this level, but if he can continue at the 1 K/IP rate he's on, I think the Twins will have to promote him sooner rather than later.

That's with a short E. Plus, shameless plug, learn more and follow his season here. http://twinsdaily.com/topic/17613-chih-wei-hu-2015/ He's starting tonight for Fort Myers.

Thanks for the article. It's been great following the start of his season. I was happy to get him in the Adopt-a-Prospect forum this year because I thought he was underrated and a good sleeper pick to have a great year. As for his first name, best I could find is "CHE-way".

I'm pumped for my boy Hu! Hard to argue with Gonsalves at #1. I can't wait till he moves up to Ft. Myers and we get to see him, Hu, Slegers, Eades, and hopefully soon after Stewart back at the top of the rotation.

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/twins-minor-league-starting-pitcher-of-the-month-april-2015-r3618 #2 for April's Starting Pitcher of the Month!!! You're my boy, Hu!

Last night Hu put together another great start. 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 R (1 ER), 8K He picked up the win to move his record to 3-0 on the season. The Miracle have won each of the 4 games he's started, which is really impressive considering those account for half their season total. For the season, Hu, over 24 IP, holds a 1.50 ERA, .167 AVG against, 0.71 WHIP, and has struck out 28 batters to just 3 walks. AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see where he winds up in the TD April Pitcher of the Month. I'm guessing in the top 2 along with Gonsalves. Thoughts?

Another mark of a badly run organization. A player's contract, not performance, determines playing time. On top of that, one rehab start in Low-A and he's deemed ready to return to the big leagues. What, the Twins couldn't pop for a flight to Chattanooga or Rochester? Well, I can't wait for the next terrible start, then previously unknown "injury" to pop up, followed by another DL stint, then joke rehab assignment, and return to Minnesota prompting a more deserving pitcher to get bumped. All because of his terrible contract. I'm afraid we have 2-1/2 more years of this cycle. It's an embarrassment!!!

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/twins-minor-league-report-424-weather-overtime-and-leaders-r3590 #1 in WHIP and BB/9. #6 in K/9 and just missed out in ERA and innings. Great start to the year!

Another dominant start from Gonsalves. How many more starts do you think before he gets the call to FTM? Also, the Kanzler - Hu homer story is funny considering it was the first home run Hu has given up with Twins organization.

Well darn it! The streak is over. Chih-Wei Hu, after 119.2 IP in his professional career, finally gave up a home run. He have it up to the first batter tonight, a guy named Champ. The story of the homer itself is pretty dramatic given the streak. http://m.milb.com/t509/2015_04_23_ftmafa_sluafa_1/article/20150423120173984/miracle_defeat_mets_4-2_in_first_of_three_game_series?team= Hi picked up the win, though, with a 6 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 K performance. He's now 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA on the season. Solid, solid, solid.

The hit tool is the hit tool. Gordon's got it. 3-for-3 in today's game. He hasn't stopped hitting since he joined the organization. I'm more interested in the speed game, power, and defense being played up.

No matter how many games into the season it is or in what league, any time a pitcher in the Twins organization strikes out batters at the rate Jorge is big news. I am excited to follow his next few starts. Given his time in CR last year, I wondered if he continues his good showing whether he might get a midseason call up.

Guys with beards should swing at the first pitch sometimes.

Hu #2 Through his first two starts of 2015, Chih-Wei Hu seems to have made the transition to the Advanced Class-A Florida State League. In his first start, Hu pitched 5.0 innings and received a no decision. He allowed two runs on three hits. His time on the mound was interesting as he hit one batter, allowed one run to score on a balk, and then let home the other run on a wild pitch. Hu finished with six strikeouts and no walks allowed. The Miracle went on to win the game in 11 innings. To say his second start of the season, last night against St. Lucie, went better would be an understatement. Hu was dominant in perhaps his best professional start. He picked up his first win throwing 7.0 shutout innings. He gave up two hits, one walk and struck out ten batters. He was incredibly efficient, as he faced only three hitters more than the minimum over the seven innings and only went to three-ball counts twice. He also earned Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day honors. Here is Hu’s stat line through the two starts. 12.0 IP, 1-0 (W-L), 1.50 ERA, 5 H, 1 BB, 16 K .125 AVG, 0.50 WHIP In my first write-up, I forgot to include my predictions for Hu for the year. Take this from someone not claiming to be an expert. I think Hu will spend the entire year in Fort Myers. It would be great to see him pull off a Berrios-like FSL tenure and early promotion to AA, I don’t know if Hu’s stuff is on that level (yet). But with more starts like last night, Hu could definitely make a liar out of me. If (more like when) Berrios and Duffey get promoted from Chattanooga, Hu may get the chance to move up. I think if he stays in Fort Myers all year, he could put up numbers in the range of 20-23 starts, 130-150 IP, 12-16 wins, 2.50 ERA, sub-1.00 WHIP, .180 AVG against. I think he can keep his walks down to the 1.5-2.0 BB/9 range. I am most interested to see if he can raise his strikeout rate to the 9.0-9.5 K/9 range.

Chih-Wei Hu Age: 21 Born: November 4, 1993 Birthplace: Taichung, Taiwan Height: 6’-1” Weight: 209 lbs Position: SP Throws: R Bats: R Hu was signed by the Twins out of Taiwan as an undrafted free agent in August 2012 with a signing bonus of $220,000. Hu has certainly impressed in his time in the Twins organization. In 2013, he pitched in the Gulf Coast League and over 12 appearances, including 5 starts, and 36.2 IP, he posted a 2-0 record along with a 2.45 ERA. His peripheral stats were even more impressive as he had a 39/8 K/BB ratio, .207 AVG against, and 0.98 WHIP in his first stint in Rookie ball. Hu began 2014 in Extended Spring Training and then was moved to Elizabethtown. There he was even more impressive. Over 3 starts, he pitched to a 1.69 ERA while averaging a strike out per inning. His .127 AVG against and 0.56 WHIP quickly earned him a promotion to Cedar Rapids in early July. His tremendous pitching continued in the Midwest League and helped lead the Kernels into the playoffs. He amassed 55.0 IP that included 9 starts and finished with a 7-2 record and a 2.29 ERA. Still just 20, his 48/13 K/BB ratio, 201 AVG against, and 0.98 WHIP should have gotten the Twins mighty excited about 2015. Hu’s most impressive stat, though, may be the fact that in 107.2 IP and 420 batter faced HE HAS YET TO GIVE UP A HOME RUN!!! MINOR Totals: 107.2 IP, 10-2 (W-L), 2.15 ERA, 103 K, 23 BB, .193 AVG, 0.91 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 0.0 HR/9, 4.48 K/BB Hu is known for being aggressive in his approach and pounding the strike zone. His fastball sits in the low-90s but he has been able to dial it up to 94-95 mph. His change up is his best off speed pitch and a good one. He also throws a curve ball, and I have seen reports of either a slider or second change up (as a die hard Johan fan, I think throwing two kinds of change ups is AWESOME!!!). Hu has not received the attention that other pitchers in the Twins minor leagues who were drafted high or acquired via trade. However, his performance through his age-20 season against older opponents, maturity, and upside will most likely start earning him some additional interest from experts. He was named as the “2015 Under-the-Radar Prospect” for the Florida State League by the staff at MiLB.com. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150406&content_id=115961532&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb Hu begins his 2015 season tomorrow night in Fort Myers against the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Here’s to hoping he continues to excel and advances quickly through the Twins system.

Chih-Wei Hu