Cheng-Yang Chu

From BR Bullpen

Cheng-Yang Chu (朱承洋)
formerly known as Chun-Hsiang Chu

  • Bats Left, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 8", Weight 154 lb.

BR Register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Cheng-Yang Chu has played in the CPBL.

Chu was drafted by the Lamigo Monkeys in the second round of the 2013 CPBL Draft, and he debuted on October 15, 2013. He broke Keng-Hao Chang's record to become the youngest pitcher to get a win in CPBL. He was a solid reliever in 2014, and he was selected into the 2014 CPBL All-Star Game; he relieved Ming-Chieh Hsu in the 4th inning and pitched a shutout inning. Chu ended up collecting 3 wins with a 3.26 ERA in 26 appearances. Unfortunately, he had a motorcycle accident after this season, and he sustained an open fracture on his right tibia. Chu missed the entire 2015 season, and he only pitched two games in 2016.[1]

The Taitung native overcame the injury, and he was selected into the 2017 CPBL All-Star Game. He relieved Yao-Lin Wang in the 8th inning, and Ke-Wei Fang reached first due to an error. Chu allowed back-to-back singles to Hsiao-Yi Kao and Cheng-Wei Chang to load the bases, and De-Long Yu drew a walk and drove in a run. He then retired Ssu-Chi Chou and Yi-Chuan Lin to end this inning and got a hold. Chu ended up having a 6.32 ERA in 40 appearances and notched 12 holds. In the 2017 Taiwan Series, Chu relieved Zeke Spruill in the 7th inning against the CTBC Brothers, but he allowed a single to Chiang-Ho Chen and walked Wei-Chen Wang then Yao-Lin Wang replaced him. Chu pitched a shutout inning in Game 2, then relieved Yi-Cheng Wang in the 7th inning of Game 4. Chu allowed a solo homer to Chih-Hao Chang, but he still completed an inning to get the hold, and helped the Monkeys win the Taiwan Series title in this game. He then represented Taiwan in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship. He relieved Shih-Ying Peng and retired Tatsuhiro Tamura, but he then walked Shogo Nakamura and Yota Kyoda so Hung-Cheng Wang replaced him. That was the only appearance for him in the entire event.[2]

Chu bounced back in 2018, and he had a 4.50 ERA in 25 appearances while collecting 7 holds. He relieved Michael Nix in Game 2 of 2018 Taiwan Series, and Chih-Chieh Su blasted a leadoff homer. Chu struck out Wu-Hsiung Pan, but he then gave up a double to Kuo-Ching Kao; Tzu-Peng Huang succeeded him and he got a hold. His next appearance was in Game 3, but he struggled again. He plunked Fu-Lin Kuo first, then Chieh-Kai Pan hit a RBI triple. Pan soon scored due to 2B Yen-Wen Kuo's error. Chu retired the next three batters to end his work in this series, and the Monkeys beat the Lions in 6 Games.

The 24-year-old reliever slumped to a 5.14 ERA in 10 games in 2019, and he underwent a right elbow injury on August and missed the rest of the season. Chu came back and posted a 3.72 ERA in 29 games in 2020, then he improved to 2.97 in 33 games in 2021. He collected 11 holds, and ranked 9th in holds (16 behind Chun-Wei Wu). Chu was selected into the 2022 CPBL All-Star Games, and he relieved Hung-Wen Chen in the 7th inning of Game 1. Chu retired Chun-Hsiu Chen then allowed a single to Chi-Hung Hsu. He struck out Cheng-Yu Chang, walked Chin Cheng then forced An-Ko Lin to hit an infield fly to get the hold. He then succeeded Chen again in the 6th inning in Game 2, and he completed another shutout inning with a strikeout of An-Ko Lin to get the hold. He ended up having a 3.33 ERA in 50 games and notched 18 holds. He ranked 3rd in holds (8 behind Yu-Hsun Chen) and 4th in appearances (9 behind Bradin Hagens). He appeared in all 4 games of the 2022 Taiwan Series and pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings, but the CTBC Brothers still swept the Monkeys.[3]

Chu was still reliable in 2023. He recorded a 3.94 ERA in 38 appearances while notching 6 holds. In the 2023 Taiwan Series, he relieved Hung-Wen Chen in the 12th inning against the Wei-Chuan Dragons in Game 1, and he got a hold while pitching a shutout inning with a strikeout of Hsiao-Yi Kao. Chu then succeeded Jen-Ho Tseng in the 6th inning in Game 3, and he struck out Hsiao-Cheng Lin and Kao after retiring Shao-Hung Chiang. His last appearance was in Game 4, but he gave up 3 straight hits to Kai-Wei Lee, Tien-Hsin Kuo and Giljegiljaw Kungkuan so he had an earned run. The Dragons beat the Monkeys in 7 games. Chu changed his name after this season.

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