Jin-De Jhang

Jin-De Jhang (張進德)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 220 lb.

• School National Taiwan Sport University
• High School Taichung Agricultural Senior High School

• Born May 17, 1993 in Taitung City Taiwan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Jin-De Jhang has caught in the minors and for the Taiwan national team; his brother Yu-Cheng Chang (different transliteration of the same last name) has also played in the minors. Another brother, Wei-Sheng Chan, has played in the CPBL.

Jhang signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a $250,000 bonus; the scout was Fu-Chun Chiang. He made his US debut in 2012 with the GCL Pirates, hitting .305/.382/.398 and making no errors. He was named the Gulf Coast League All-Star catcher. Baseball America ranked him as the #19 prospect in the GCL, between Harold Castro and Francellis Montas; he was not the top-rated Taiwanese prospect as Tzu-Wei Lin was listed as #8. In 2013, Jhang hit .277/.338/.413 for the Jamestown Jammers and threw out 47% of attempted base-stealers. He won Bronze in the 2013 East Asian Games. He slumped in 2014 with the Bradenton Marauders, hitting .219/.263/.301 with only 2 homers in 77 games while splitting catching with Jacob Stallings; he fielded .985 and gunned down 32% of those who tried to steal.

The Taitung native made the Taiwanese roster for the 2014 Asian Games, posting the best average of any of their players with multiple hits (4 for 8, HBP, no XBH, no BB); Hsien-Hsien Yang was 1 for 2. Jhang got into all three games in the preliminary round. He hit 7th as DH versus Hong Kong and went 1 for 4 with a run and RBI in a 12-0 win. Hitting 8th and catching against Thailand, he was 2 for 3. In a 10-0 loss to South Korea, he batted for catcher Kun-Sheng Lin and singled off Ji-man An. Kun-Sheng Lin was the catcher in the semifinal and in the Gold Medal game (a loss to Korea).

Jhang improved to .292/.332/.381 with the Marauders in 2015, and he got a promotion. He represented Taiwan in the 2015 Premier 12, and he was 3-for-8. He threw out 3 runners against Cuba. Jhang hit .298/.338/.383 for the Altoona Curve in 2016, and he even reached AA as he played 6 games for Indianapolis Indians. However, he injured his abdominal oblique, and he only hit .231/.280/.311 for Altoona, Jhang stayed in AA in 2018, and he recorded a .320/.373/.410 batting line (had he qualified, he would have tied Harold Ramírez for the Eastern League batting title) then he became a free agent. The San Francisco Giants signed him, but Jhang struggled as his batting line was .138/.190/.181 in AA, then he went back to his hometown Taiwan. Jhang was 1-for-8 in the 2019 Premier 12, then he played for Taiwan in the 2019 Asian Championship, hitting .286 with five RBI in four games for the champs; his three-run double off Yoshiki Yamada was a key hit in the 5-4 Gold Medal Game victory.

The Fubon Guardians selected Jhang in the first round of the 2020 CPBL Draft, and he had a .343/.394/.537 batting line with 9 homers. He hit .324/.384/.414 in 2021, but he struggled and recorded a .232/.304/.312 batting line in 2022. Jhang bounced back a little in 2023 and his batting line was .266/.323/.374.

Sources

• 2014 Pirates Media Guide
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• Piratesprospects.com
• 2014 Asian Games
• Baseball America
• CPBL.com Bio
• 2019 Asian Championship Final Report