Sheng-An Kuo

Sheng-An Kuo (郭勝安)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.

• School Dahan College
• High School Kao-Yuan Technical High School

• Born January 1, 1986 in Tainan City Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Sheng-An Kuo pitched in the minor league and the CPBL for 12 years.

Kuo helped his team to the 2000 Pony League World Series title alongside Ching-Lung Lo, a fellow future Colorado Rockies farmhand. Kuo played for Taiwan in the 2001 World Youth Championship and 2004 World Junior Championship (1 R in 2 IP, 4 K). Out of college and following a couple injuries since 2000, he was signed by the Rockies in 2007. At the time, his fastball was only clocked at 85 mph but scouts felt he projected well. Kuo debuted with the Tri-City Dust Devils, going 5-4 with a 4.69 ERA as a regular member of the rotation and tied for the Northwest League lead with 15 starts.

With the Asheville Tourists, the right-hander began 2008 with a 8-3, 3.64 record after 13 games. He was demoted to Tri-City and he had a 5.12 ERA in 15 games. He went back to Asheville in 2010, and he was close to league average when his ERA was 4.87 in 55 relief outings. He was 3-1 with 20 saves. Only Adam Jorgenson had more saves by a Rockies farmhand. He was third in the South Atlantic League in that department, behind Kirk Clark and AJ Ramos. The Rockies gave him one last chance when they promoted 25-year-old Kuo to AA Modesto Nuts. However, he recorded a 6.66 ERA in 48 games in 2011 (his other numbers weren't bad at 3-3 with 10 saves and a 1.34 WHIP), and he was released. Kuo pitched a season for the London Rippers of the Frontier League (going 0-10 despite a 4.79 ERA; only Jake Liedka had more losses in the loop), then he went back to Taiwan.

The Lamigo Monkeys selected him in the 5th round of the 2013 CPBL Draft, but Kuo even struggled in the CPBL minors. After having a 31.91 ERA in the minors in 2015, Kuo was released and it seemed that his pro career may end. Fortunately, the manager of the EDA Rhinos - Chun-Chang Yeh - persuaded the team to sign Kuo, and he said that he could deal with Kuo's command problem. Kuo had a huge improvement in 2016, having a 3.10 ERA in 40 appearances and won the CPBL Most Improved Player Award. However, his ERA rose to 4.26 in 2017, and he stayed in the minors in 2018. Kuo announced his retirement after the 2018 season, and he became a coach. He was the pitching coach for the Wei Chuan Dragons from 2019 to 2020, and he became their bullpen coach in 2021.

Overall, Kuo was 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA, struck out 41 and pitched 53 1/3 innings in 2 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources

• 2008 Rockies Media Guide
• MLB.com page
• CPBL.com bio
• Taiwan Baseball Blog
• Wiki Baseball (in Chinese)
• 2008 Baseball Almanac
• Defunct IBAF site