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A's getting long look at prospect so good you forget he's just 20


MESA, Ariz. -- Wei-En Lin didn’t know much about baseball as a kid growing up
 in Taiwan. In fact, his first time trying out for a team in elementary school
, it took him a while just to realize what type of glove he actually needed to
 play.

“I played catch with my left hand because I only had a righty glove,” Lin
said through translator Danny Sung. “I would catch the ball with my left hand
, then take off the glove and use my left hand to throw.”

Coaches at the park where tryouts were being held eventually noticed Lin’s
bizarre antics and advised him to buy a left-handed glove. After that, it didn
’t take long for Lin to take off.

Lin quickly ascended as an elite pitcher in his native territory. By his
sophomore year at Ping-Zhen High School, scouts were flying in to catch a
glimpse of the talented teenage lefty. In 2023, he represented Taiwan in the
WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, playing a key role in helping his team win a
silver medal at the tournament. One year later, the Athletics signed him in
June 2024, rewarding him with a bonus of $1.13 million.

You can say that money was well spent. Making his professional debut in 2025,
Lin dominated hitters with both Single-A Stockton and High-A Lansing, earning
a promotion to Double-A Midland after just 24 games. He ended the year by
helping the Rockhounds in a playoff run. Between the three levels, Lin posted
a 3.72 ERA in 26 games (13 starts) with 117 strikeouts and 22 walks across 87
innings, all as a 19-year-old.

“He throws strikes,” A’s director of player development Ed Sprague said of
Lin. “He’s got good stuff. It’s a loose arm. It’s a good body. … The
strikes and the command of the zone have been pretty impressive. He’s a fun
kid who loves to compete. Given what he’s been able to do at his age in his
first full year of pro ball was fun to watch. You had to remind yourself he’s
 only 19.”

Lin handled himself like anything but a 19-year-old. He showed superb control
of all his pitches, a five-pitch arsenal that includes a fastball, a cutter, a
 sweeper and a knuckle-curve.

Lin’s most impressive pitch, however, might be his Vulcan changeup.

What exactly is a “Vulcan changeup,” you ask? It’s a modification of a
changeup with a V-shaped grip that has become much more popular in recent
years, offering more downward movement than a traditional changeup.

After noticing his regular changeup started to lose effectiveness last May,
Lin sought to teach himself the Vulcan grip by watching YouTube videos.

“The first video I saw was of Trevor Bauer when he played in Cleveland,” Lin
 said. “It was a slow-motion video, and I found the grip he used to throw his
 changeup. I learned from that. After that, I saw videos of Tarik Skubal and
Jonah Tong’s changeup, and that’s how I learned.”

Armed with an improved pitch, Lin began using it with Lansing to massive
success. He kept using it in his two starts for Midland, where he got a taste
of what is required at a higher level.

“The hitters are totally different there,” Lin said. “Double-A hitters are
more patient. They know their strengths and look for their pitch. There’s a
lot of top prospects at the Double-A level, so I just want to see them as much
 as I can to get ready for the next level.”

Before the season begins, Lin, who ended last season ranked by MLB Pipeline as
 the A’s No. 19 prospect, is soaking in as much as he can from his first
Major League Spring Training, picking the brains of veterans on the staff like
 Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs, as well as A’s pitching coach Scott
Emerson.

“First day, I talked to Luis Severino and Jeff Springs,” Lin said. “They
were talking about how to hide your hand, your grip, from the second-base
runner. That’s important, because the runner can see your grip and see what
pitch is coming.”

Next week, Lin will leave camp to join Team Chinese Taipei in the World
Baseball Classic, where he, along with fellow A’s prospects Chen Zhong-Ao
Zhuang (No. 28) and Tzu-Chen Sha (No. 29), will represent their home territory
.

Group stage will not be easy, as Chinese Taipei is in a pool that also
includes Australia, Czechia, Korea and Japan. That means Lin could be in for a
 potential matchup with Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto,
two of his favorite players to watch.

“I want to face Ohtani, for sure,” Lin said with a smile. “And go up
against Yamamoto. Then, after the game, maybe ask Yamamoto how to throw his
curveball, because his curve is very good, and then ask both of them to sign a
 jersey.”


以下為AI機翻

梅薩，亞利桑那州—— 林維恩在台灣長大時，其實對棒球並不熟悉。事實上，他在國小
第一次去球隊試訓時，花了一段時間才搞清楚自己應該用哪一種手套。

「因為我只有右手手套，所以我用左手接球。」林維恩透過翻譯 Danny Sung 說道，「我會用左手接球，然後把手套摘下來，再用左手把球丟出去。」

後來，試訓場地的教練們注意到林維恩奇怪的動作，建議他買一個左手手套。之後，他的棒球之路便迅速起飛。





然而，他最令人印象深刻的球種，也許是 Vulcan 變速球（Vulcan changeup）。

如果你想問，「什麼是 Vulcan 變速球？」那是一種變速球的改良版，握法呈現 V 字型，近年來愈來愈受歡迎，能比傳統變速球產生更多向下位移。

去年五月，林維恩注意到他的原本變速球效果下降後，便透過 YouTube 自行學習 Vulcan 握法。


在掌握新球種後，林維恩在 Lansing 開始大量使用，並獲得巨大成功。他在 Midland 的兩次先發也持續使用，並首次感受到更高層級打者的差異。




下週，林維恩將離隊，加入中華隊參加經典賽，與運動家其他新秀 —— 莊陳仲敖（排名第 28）、沙子宸（排名第 29）—— 一同代表家鄉出賽。


「我當然想面對大谷。」林維恩笑著說。「還有對上山本。然後比賽結束後，也許可以問
山本他是怎麼丟曲球的，因為他的曲球真的很好，接著再請他們兩位幫我簽球衣。」

https://reurl.cc/2l5m0E


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※ 作者: nybbnan 2026-02-25 10:02:23
※ 文章代碼(AID): #1fdbWoIZ (Baseball)
※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Baseball/M.1771984946.A.4A3.html