Position: RHP
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 175 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 09/26/1993
Country: Taiwan
Signed: International Free Agent, 2014 (Diamondbacks)
How Acquired: Minor League Free Agent
Bonus: $450,000
40-man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: Yes
Minor League Free Agency: 2025
Options Left: 2
Overview
Huang has had a disjointed career. He signed with Arizona for a moderately large bonus out of Taiwan and went straight to full season ball, where he started off well. Since then he’s had lots of brief stints at various levels, usually pitching well and occasionally not. He’s also had some injury interruptions and has drawn concerns about his durability. He’s always had very high K rates and showed enough to lead Texas to trade for him and then put him on the 40-man roster. The Rangers released him, though, late in the year when he reached the majors and he was out of organized baseball for all of 2020-21. He returned in 2022 at the age of 28. Huang’s fastball averages about 93 mph, and he adds a slider, curve and change. His best pitch is the change, which has led to the high strikeout rates. The Pirates claimed him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
2015-18
Huang made halting progress through the lower minors. He missed the early part of the 2015 season with back problems, then pitched very well in a dozen starts and three relief appearances at low A. Baseball America ranked him 16th in the Arizona system. In 2016, Huang’s season started late due to his military commitment in Taiwan. He then went to high A and struggled through half a dozen outings before being shut down due to shoulder soreness. He missed a couple of months, then finished the season pitching in long relief in short season ball. BA still ranked him 21st in the system.
In 2017, Arizona moved Huang to relief and he split his season between low and high A, pitching exclusively in relief. He got excellent results, although by this time he was 23. The D’backs sent him back to high A at the start of 2018 and he continued pitching well, both there and after moving up to AA. He continued to maintain K/9 figures in double digits. At the deadline, Arizona traded Huang to Texas. He didn’t pitch well in AA for the Rangers, but they added him to the 40-man roster after the season.
2019-21
Huang opened the season pitching in relief in AA, but the Rangers called him up twice briefly in April and May. He spent most of the rest of the season in AAA, but also missed June and part of July with an unknown injury. He had a rough four-game stretch after returning to AAA that inflated his numbers, but otherwise pitched well. The Rangers nevertheless removed him from the roster in December, then re-signed him several days later to a minor league deal. The pandemic eliminated the minor league season in 2020, though, and in August the Rangers released Huang. He didn’t pitch in affiliated ball in 2021.
2022-24
Huang signed a minor league deal with the Giants in February and went to AAA as a reliever. He struggled there, posting a 6.08 ERA through mid-June, then went out with an unknown injury. After rehabbing in rookie ball, he returned to AAA as a starter in early August. In 11 starts the rest of the way, he posted a 3.09 ERA.
The Giants did not protect Huang from either phase of the Rule 5 draft and the Pirates selected him in the minor league portion. They probably saw him as AAA starting depth. At the end of spring training, though, he went on the full season injured list. He became a free agent after 2023 and the Pirates signed him to a minor league deal for 2024. At the start of the season, though, the Pirates put him on the injured list and he never appeared in a game.
Stats
TRANSACTIONS
July 2, 2014: Signed as an international free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
July 31, 2018: Traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks with Joshua Javier to the Texas Rangers for Jake Diekman.
November 20, 2018: Contract purchased by the Texas Rangers.
December 2, 2019: Became a free agent.
December 5, 2019: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Texas Rangers.
August 8, 2020: Released by the Texas Rangers.
February 1, 2022: Signed as a minor league free agent by the San Francisco Giants.
December 7, 2022: Selected from the San Francisco Giants by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
November 6, 2023: Became a free agent.
December 13, 2023: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates.