Kuo-Hua Lo (01)

Kuo-Hua Lo (羅國華)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 199 lb.

• High School San-Hsin High School

• Born October 28, 1992 in Chiayi City Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kuo-Hua Lo has pitched in the minors, CPBL and for the Taiwanese national team.

Lo pitched five shutout innings in the 2009 Asian Junior Championship. In the 2010 World Junior Championship, he was 1-0 with a save and a 0.73 ERA. He went the distance with a 3-hit, 10-whiff effort to beat Canada in a duel with Evan Grills. Of the hurlers who worked 10+ innings in the event, only John Simms had a better ERA. Taiwan won the title.

Minnesota Twins scout Cary Broder signed Lo in 2011; the bonus was $150,000. In 2012, he was 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 0.78 WHIP for the GCL Twins. Had he qualified (he was about 9 innings shy), he would have easily led the Gulf Coast League in ERA. He did not give up a run in his final 18 2 /3 innings. Moving up to the Elizabethton Twins in 2013, he was 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA. He won Bronze in the 2013 East Asian Games. In 2014, he was 3-0 with a 3.69 ERA for Elizabethton, fanning 37 in 31 2/3 IP. He held righties to a .154 average but lefties hit .321 off him,

With Taiwan at the 2014 Asian Games, he was 1-0 with one hit and no walks or runs in three innings, fanning six for the Silver Medal winners. In a third campaign for Elizabethton, he was superb (4-1, 7 SV, 1.44, 43 K in 31 1/3 IP,m .73 WHIP, .146 opponent average). He was second in the Appalachian League in saves, two behind Alberto Casanas. Lo was named as the loop's All-Star reliever.

In the 2015 Asian Championship, Lo tied Ping-Hsueh Chen for the team lead with three games pitched for the Silver Medalists; interestingly, he relieved Chen in all three of those games. In an opening loss to South Korea (the champions), he was the 5th of 7 South Korean hurlers, working 2/3 of an inning and allowing a hit before Jen-Lei Liao relieved. Lo wrapped up a three-man shutout of Chin with one shutout frame. He also closed out the win over Japan that got Taiwan the Silver, pitching two shutout innings, with one hit and four whiffs, for the save. He also was on Taiwan's roster for the 2015 Premier 12 but did not get into a game.

Lo had a 2.60 ERA in 25 games for A Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2016, then the Twins released him. Lo made it onto Taiwan's roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic, and he relieved Chen-Hua Lin in the 9th inning against Israel. He allowed 4 runs included a 3-run homer to Nate Freiman in a rough inning. He then joined the Kochi Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku Island League plus, and he had a solid 0.86 ERA in 19 games there. The Fubon Guardians selected him in the third round of the 2017 CPBL Draft. However, Lo struggled in Taiwan, and he had a 5.54 ERA in 29 games in 2017.

The Chiayi native had a 5.54 ERA in 14 games in 2018, and he only pitched 9 games in 2019. He recorded a 5.01 ERA in 23 appearances in 2020, so he only played 2 games in 2021. The Guardians released him, and he signed with the Wei Chuan Dragons. Lo had a 4.86 ERA in 19 games in 2022, then he stayed in the minors for most of 2023. He only had 4 appearances with the big club, and he led the minor league with 13 saves (1 ahead of Po-Huai Yin).

Lo throws a fastball (peak time 96 mph), curveball, slider and changeup.

Sources

• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• 2010 World Junior Championship
• 2014 Asian Games site
• Asian Baseball Federation
• MILB.com
• World Baseball and Softball Confederation
• CPBL.com