Wei-Chieh Huang | |
Team: | Pittsburgh Pirates |
Position: | Pitcher |
Bats: | Right |
Throws: | Right |
Birth Date: | 26 September 1993 |
Birth Place: | Taitung, Taiwan |
Debutleague: | MLB |
Debutdate: | April 23 |
Debutyear: | 2019 |
Debutteam: | Texas Rangers |
Statleague: | MLB |
Statyear: | 2019 season |
Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
Stat1value: | 0–0 |
Stat2label: | Earned run average |
Stat2value: | 3.18 |
Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
Stat3value: | 2 |
Teams: |
Wei-Chieh Huang (; born September 26, 1993) is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers.
Huang graduated from Kao-Yuan Tech High School in Kaohsiung and attended the National Taiwan University of Physical Education and Sport.[1]
In 2014, he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an international free agent.[2] In 2015, Huang made his professional debut with the Kane County Cougars and spent the whole season there, posting a 7–3 record and 2.00 ERA in 15 games (12 starts).[3] Huang was chosen to represent the Diamondbacks at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game.[4] He spent 2016 with both the Visalia Rawhide, where he pitched to a 1–1 record and 6.49 ERA in six games started, and the Hillsboro Hops where he posted a 2–2 record and 5.34 ERA in nine games. In 2017, he spent time with both the Kane County Cougars and Visalia, pitching to a combined 2–1 record and 1.81 ERA in 64.2 total innings between both teams.[5] Huang split the majority of his 2018 season between the Rawhide and the Jackson Generals.
The Diamondbacks traded Huang and Joshua Javier to the Texas Rangers for Jake Diekman on July 31, 2018.[6] Huang was assigned to the Frisco RoughRiders after the trade. In a combined 38 games (2 starts) between Visalia, Jackson, and Frisco, Huang posted a 7–3 record with a 3.33 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 78 innings. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.[7]
In 2019, Huang split the minor league season between Frisco, the AZL Rangers, and the Nashville Sounds,[8] going a combined 2–2 with a 4.74 ERA over innings. On April 23, he was called up to the major league roster for the first time.[9] He made his major league debut that night, pitching innings in relief.[10] Huang appeared in four games for Texas in 2019, going 0–0 with a 3.18 ERA in innings. On December 2, 2019, Huang was non-tendered by Texas and became a free agent.[11] He re-signed with Texas on a minor league contract on December 5.[12]
On August 8, 2020, Huang was released by the Rangers organization.
On February 2, 2022, Huang signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.[13] In 2022, he pitched 7.1 scoreless innings for Giants Orange, and pitching for Sacramento he was 3-2 with a 4.40 ERA in 71.2 innings in which he struck out 89 batters.[14]
On December 7, 2022, Huang was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.[15] He did not appear in a game for the organization before electing free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.[16]
On December 13, 2023, Huang re–signed with the Pirates on a minor league contract.[17]