Dae-eun Rhee

Dae-Eun Rhee (이대은)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Shinil High School

• Born March 23, 1989 in Seoul South Korea

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Biographical Information

Starting pitcher Dae-Eun Rhee played in the Chicago Cubs minor league system from 2008 to 2014. He was signed by the team as an international free agent by scout Steve Wilson.

After going 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 10 starts for the Peoria Chiefs in his rookie professional season, Baseball America rated him as the Cubs' #4 prospect and as having the best changeup in their system. Rhee underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and saw limited action (4 R in 4 2/3 IP for the AZL Cubs, 0-1 with 5 runs in 4 IP for the Boise Hawks). He was ready for a mostly-full season in 2010 (he missed some time on the DL) but was not back to form, going 5-13 with a 5.27 ERA for the Daytona Cubs. He tied Robert Bono for second in the Florida State League in losses, one behind Heitor Correa. He also led Cubs farmhands in defeats, three more than Hung-Wen Chen and Nick Struck.

He was sharper (8-7, 4.02) for Daytona in 2011. He had four of the seven complete games by a Cubs farmhand and also led the FSL in that department (one ahead of Darin Gorski and Trevor May). He was 9-8 with a 4.81 ERA for the 2012 Tennessee Smokies. He tied for fourth in the Southern League in wins, was second in hits allowed (168, one behind Graham Taylor), led in runs allowed (93, 3 ahead of Jake Thompson), tied Cameron Bayne for second in earned runs (76, one shy of Thompson) and tied Taylor for the most gopher balls (18). In the Cubs chain, he tied for 5th in wins, but allowed the most hits (2 more than Dallas Beeler) and was second to Seth McClung in runs (3 shy), earned runs (8 back) and homers (one less).

He still battled injury in 2013, missing over three months with a right shoulder strain. He did regain his footing that year, when he was 6-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 15 starts split between the AZL Cubs (3 R in 4 IP), Boise Hawks (1-0, 0 R in 8 IP) and Tennessee Smokies (5-1, 3.34). He began 2014 with Tennessee and also pitched for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. With the Cubs, he was 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA in nine games (eight starts); Overall, he was 8-6 with a 3.42 ERA in 27 games (24 starts).

He was granted free agency following the 2014 campaign and signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. He was 9-9 with a 3.84 ERA in 37 games (17 starts) his first year with the team and in 2016, he went 0-0 with a 7.20 ERA in three games (one start).

Source: 2014 Cubs Media Guide