Jian Yi

Jian Yi (伊健)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.

• Born February 9, 2001 in Langfang China

BR register page

Biographical Information

Jian Yi has pitched in the US and China and for the Chinese national team.

He pitched for the Guangdong Leopards in the China Baseball League. The Milwaukee Brewers then signed him; the scout was Taylor Green. In the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup, he lost to Nicaragua, started a combined shutout win over South Africa (but did not get the decision) and lost to Panama. He tied 7 others for the most losses, tied for 5th in appearances (4), tied for 2nd in starts (2), tied for 4th in hits allowed (14), tied for 5th in runs allowed (11) and was 4th in earned runs (11).

Yi split the summer of 2019 between the AZL Brewers Blue and AZL Brewers Gold, going a combined 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA and 1.95 WHIP, though he did fan 19 in 19 IP. That would be his only time in the Brewers chain. He was with the Chinese squad for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He debuted against champion Samurai Japan, relieving Changlong Su in the 8th with a close 4-1 game. He allowed a Shohei Ohtani single but struck out Munetaka Murakami before walking Masataka Yoshida and Kazuma Okamoto. Tetsuto Yamada's single made it 5-1 then Yi walked Sosuke Genda to force in a run. Yuchen Wang relieved and let two inherited runners score. His other outing was even worse. Relieving Hao Zhang in the 8th with a 11-2 deficit against Australia, he walked Tim Kennelly, gave up a double to Alex Hall and walked Robbie Glendinning intentionally. Darryl George's RBI single ended the game due to the mercy rule. He had a 135.00 ERA for the tourney. Only Mitch Bratt had a higher ERA among hurlers who retired a batter. He tied Hailong Sun, Alexis Díaz and Steven Kent for 4th in the tournament in walks.

He also pitched for China in the 2022 Asian Games (held in '23 after delays from COVID-19 restrictions). He fared better than in the WBC, allowing 3 runs (one earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks in 5 1/3 IP, striking out five; he faced champion South Korea and another medalist, Taiwan.