Eyeing roster, Chiang working on pitch usage

DETROIT -- Michael Fulmer spent baseball’s coronavirus-induced shutdown rehabbing almost by himself at the Tigers’ Spring Training complex in Lakeland, Fla. Nearly all of the players from Major League camp had gone home or found other places to train in Florida.

Nearly every player except one.

“Chiang was there the whole time,” Fulmer said last week. “Me and Chiang, we played catch and long-tossed together. I tried to learn some Mandarin. Didn’t work out.”

Shao-Ching Chiang was one of the Tigers’ pleasant surprises of Spring Training, a non-roster invite out of the Indians' farm system whose fastball opened eyes when it registered at 98 mph in a game at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Taiwanese right-hander entered the final two weeks of camp with a legitimate chance to crack Detroit’s bullpen when things shut down.

With international travel increasingly difficult, Chiang stayed at the Tigertown complex to continue working out. It would seem like a lonely endeavor, compounded by a language barrier, but he said he stayed focused on his training.

“Actually, it was fine,” Chiang said through his interpreter, “During the shutdown, I just stayed there working out every day to be prepared to be ready for the start of Spring Training 2.0.”

Chiang's pitching so far in Summer Camp has looked much the same. While he has battled command at times, his fastball is electric, setting up a nasty breaking ball. His appearance in Sunday’s intrasquad game was a microcosm: One run on one hit in two innings, two walks, three strikeouts and 39 pitches.

“His fastball is mid-90s,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I think the one thing he needs to learn is when to use the curveball in the strike zone and when to use it out of the strike zone at the Major League level. He might get away with it in other places, but I think that’s what it’s about, reading the hitter and knowing when to power one in there for the strike zone and when to actually try to pick a little bit with it.

“If he throws three curveballs in a row, two of them might be one of those that you could whack and one is filthy. And he has to figure out when to throw them. But we really like this guy’s arm. He’s a really strong young man. He’s got a good fastball. He has pitches. He’s just got to learn to pitch with his pitches to keep them off balance a little better and not try to overpower them all the time.”

To call Chiang an international signing would be inaccurate. The 26-year-old has been pitching stateside in the Minor Leagues for eight years since signing with Cleveland as an amateur. He underwent Tommy John surgery early in his pro career and didn’t reach full-season ball until 2016 in the Midwest League.

Chiang rose quickly from there and reached Triple-A Columbus two years later. His 5.11 ERA and 9.8 H/9 in 37 starts and two relief appearances over a season and a half at Columbus represented a struggle.

Chiang’s strikeout rate jumped from 5.4 per nine innings in 2018 to 8.8 K/9 last year. In the same time frame, his walk rate rose from 1.6 to 3.9.

“In these [last] couple years, my velocity has been increasing year by year,” Chiang said. “Last year, I pitched pretty much at the same velocity I pitched in this Spring Training.”

Joe Ferrone took notice. He’s the same Tigers pro scout who recommended Niko Goodrum and Nick Ramirez. Once Chiang posted two solid starts for Chinese Taipei in the Premier 12 international tournament last fall, striking out 13 batters over 11 2/3 innings of three-run ball, the Tigers made an offer to the Minor League free agent.

The Tigers do not have much recent history with players from the Far East, but Taiwanese pitcher Fu-Te Ni pitched in 58 games for Detroit in 2009-10. Now 37, he’s a respected veteran hurler in Taiwan’s CPBL. Chiang said he didn’t have a chance to talk with Ni, but he checked his stats.

“I like this team a lot,” Chiang said. “In the next couple days I will keep working and make myself prepared, just waiting for the final 30-man roster to be announced.”

Said Gardenhire: “We’re just taking a look to see how he fits and where he fits as we go along here. Good possibility he could be in our bullpen, the whole package.”