Jen-Lei Liao

Jen-Lei Liao (廖任磊)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 6", Weight 255 lb.

• School Kainan University
• High School Kyousei High School

• Born August 30, 1993 in Taoyuan County Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Jen-Lei Liao pitched in the minor leagues. His brother Yi-Chung Liao has pitched in Taiwan; his father played in the Taiwanese minors and his mother was a pitcher on the Taiwanese national softball team.

Liao was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014; the scout was Fu-Chun Chiang. He was 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA in 14 games for the GCL Pirates that year, allowing only 11 hits in 17 innings but walking 16 while fanning 12. He tied for 6th in the Gulf Coast League with 9 wild pitches. In the 2015 Asian Championship, he appeared once for the Taiwanese national team as they finished second. He was the 6th of 7 hurlers in their lone loss, to South Korea, working one shutout frame but walking two and tossing a wild pitch. He also went 0 for 1 as a backup to Han Lin at 1B.

The big right-hander was 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 13 outings for the GCL Pirates in '15, giving up only 6 walks and 14 hits in 18 2/3 IP, striking out 13, for a better season. Despite that improvement, he was let go by Pittsburgh in November. In the 2015 Asian Winter League, his fastball was timed at 154 km/h (96 mph), a new high for him. With elite pitching in that league, the Yomiuri Giants picked him in the 7th round of 2016 NPB draft. He is the tallest player to be selected in NPB draft ever.

Liao didn't pitch well in Japan, had a 5.27 ERA and 11 base on balls among 13 innings. He improved next year, lowered ERA into 2.79, but didn't well enough to stay in the guants due to awful control. Seibu Lions then signed him, and he made NPB debut in 2019 against the Chiba Lotte Marines, pitched 1 innings with 1 strikeout. He ended up 3 game played in this year, and the Lions released him in the offseason.

After being released, Liao back to Taiwan and signed a short contract with Wei Chuan Dragons to participated in Asia Winter Baseball League. The Dragons love his pitching, and selected in the sixth overall pick of 2020 CPBL Draft. Since the Dragons is a young team, experienced Liao played several roles and ended up getting 8 holds and 1 saves with a 4.99 ERA. He was pulled into the rotation in 2022, being 1-6 with 4.74 ERA. He only pitched 13 games with a 5.71 ERA in 2023.

Sources

• 2015 Pirates Media Guide
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• Asian Baseball Federation