Wei-Chieh Huang

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2015
A:  7-3-0, 2.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 76.2 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 8.0 K/9

Huang missed the early part of the season with back problems, then made a dozen starts and three relief appearances at low A.  He got very good results and Baseball America ranked him 16th in the Arizona system.

2016
R:  0-0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
A-:  2-2-0, 5.34 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 30.1 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 12.5 K/9
A+:  1-1-0, 6.49 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 4.1 BB/9, 8.5 K/9

Huang’s season started late due to his military commitment in Taiwan.  He then went to high A and struggled through half a dozen outings before being shut down due to shoulder soreness.  He missed a couple of months, then finished the season pitching in long relief in short season ball.  BA still ranked him 21st in the system.

2017
A:  1-1-0, 1.58 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 40.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 10.6 K/9
A+:  1-0-1, 2.19 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 24.2 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 11.7 K/9

Huang split his season between low and high A, pitching exclusively in relief.  He got excellent results, although by this time he was 23.

2018
A+ (Ari):  4-1-0, 2.59 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 4.6 BB/9, 13.2 K/9
AA (Ari):  2-1-1, 2.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 10.7 K/9
AA (Tex):  1-1-0, 6.30 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 11.3 K/9

Huang pitched in high A and AA through the end of July, when the D’backs traded him to Texas.  Still pitching mostly in relief, Huang did well at both stops before the trade, then not so much after joining the Rangers’ system.  Texas still added him to the 40-man roster after the season.

2019
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 15.0 K/9
AA:  1-0-0, 1.86 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 9.2 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 13.0 K/9
AAA:  1-2-0, 6.10 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 7.3 BB/9, 12.2 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 3.18 ERA, 2.29 WHIP, 5.2 IP, 7.9 BB/9, 3.2 K/9

Huang opened the season pitching in relief in AA, but the Rangers called him up twice briefly in April and May.  He spent most of the rest of the season in AAA, but also missed June and part of July with an unknown injury.  He had a rough four-game stretch after returning to AAA that inflated his numbers, but otherwise pitched well.  The Rangers nevertheless removed him from the roster in December, then re-signed him several days later to a minor league deal.

2020-21
DNP

The pandemic eliminated the minor league season in 2020 and in August the Rangers released Huang.  He didn’t pitch in affiliated ball in 2021.

2022
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.41 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 1.2 BB/9, 14.7 K/9
AAA:  3-2-0, 4.40 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 71.2 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 11.2 K/9

Huang signed a minor league deal with the Giants in February and went to AAA as a reliever.  He struggled there, posting a 6.08 ERA through mid-June, then went out with an unknown injury.  After rehabbing in rookie ball, he returned to AAA as a starter in early August.  In 11 starts the rest of the way, he posted a 3.09 ERA.  The Giants did not protect him from either phase of the Rule 5 draft and the Pirates selected him in the minor league portion.

The Pirates probably see Huang as AAA starting depth.  His career has been fairly odd, but he has some upside.  The Pirates may not see it, though, as he went on the full-season injured list at the end of spring training.  He’s eligible for free agency after 2023, so the Pirates will have to re-sign him to bring him back.