Wen-Yang Liao

Wen-Yang Liao (廖文揚)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 154 lb.

• School Chinese Cultural University
• High School Kao-Yuan Technical High School

• Born October 10, 1987 in Kaohsiung County Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Wen-Yang Liao pitched in the CPBL and for the Taiwan national baseball team.

Liao represented Taiwan in the 2008 World University Championship. He was 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA with 8 strikeouts and 5 walks in 5 1/3 IP in the 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week, and having a 1-1 record with a 1.74 ERA in the 2009 World Port Tournament. He was 9th in the WPT in ERA and tied Noelvis Entenza and Yadier Pedroso among the top 10 in strikeouts. Liao was also with Taiwan for the 2009 Asian Championship. He pitched 7 shutout innings against China.

He was on Taiwan's roster for the 2009 Baseball World Cup, losing to Rafael Diaz and Mexico then allowing four runs (one earned) in nine in a no-decision against Australia. He lost to the Netherlands and Alexander Smit, surrendering four runs in four innings, then allowed two runs in 5 1/3 IP in a no-decision versus Venezuela. He also pitched in the 2010 Haarlem Baseball Week, with a no-decision against the Netherlands and a win over Japan. During the 2010 Intercontinental Cup, he struck out four in two perfect innings to beat Leoš Kubát and the Czech Republic but walked four and allowed a run in 1 1/3 IP versus Japan.

The Uni-President Lions selected him in the second round of the 2010 CPBL Draft, and he had a 5.31 ERA in 16 appearances in his rookie year. He was named the starter of 2011 Taiwan Series Game 3 against the Lamigo Monkeys, but he allowed 4 runs in 3 innings and got the loss. That was the only loss for the Lions in that series, and Liao won his first Taiwan Series title. He improved to 9-3 with a 4.25 ERA in 46 appearances in 2012, ranking 6th in wins (7 behind Yuya Kamada) and 10th in appearances (17 behind Huan-Yang Chen). In the 2012 Taiwan Series, he pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 4 but the Lions lost to the Monkeys in 5 games this time.

Liao had his career year in 2013. As a swingman, he was 4-4 with a 2.07 ERA in 32 games (10 starts). He was also selected into the 2013 CPBL All-Star Game, and he pitched a shutout inning. He pitched a shutout inning in the 2013 Taiwan Series to help the Lions swept the EDA Rhinos. The Lions also finished second in the 2013 Asia Series.

Liao entered the rotation in 2014, and he was 10-5 with a 3.87 ERA. He ranked 3rd in wins (1 behind Kai-Wen Cheng) and Freddy Garcia), 6th in ERA (1.39 behind Cheng) and 9th in strikeouts (43 behind Sheng-Hsiung Huang). He was the only pitcher that completed a shutout this season.

However, Liao slumped to 3-12 with a 5.87 ERA in 2015 and he led the league in losses. He struggled again, having a 6.41 ERA in 22 games in 2016, and he was 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA in 2017. Liao mainly stayed in the minors in the next two seasons, so he only pitched 23 games with the big club. The Wei Chuan Dragons selected Liao in the expansion draft after the 2019 season, and he pitched in the minor league with them; he had a 3.43 ERA in 47 games there. He recorded a 5.65 ERA in 25 games in 2021, then he announced his retirement after only having 5 appearances in 2022. He then became a coach for the Lions in 2023.

Overall, Liao was 40-42 with a 4.94 ERA, struck out 425 and pitched 701 1/3 innings in 11 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources

• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• CPBL.com Bio
• 2010 Intercontinental Cup Final Report
• 2009 Baseball World Cup Final Report
• Old Haarlem Baseball Week site
• 2008 World University Championship site
• Old World Port Tournament site