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    Cincinnati Reds #22 Prospect: Sheng-En Lin

    Doug Gray 9

    The Cincinnati Reds made a bit of a surprise 7-figure signing this past summer when Sheng-En Lin decided he wanted to play stateside rather than in Taiwan after he graduated from high school. In early June he inked a deal with the Reds for $1,200,000 as a signing bonus.

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    While he signed in June, he didn’t show up in games until nearly two months later when he took the field on August 1st against one of the Giants clubs in Arizona (they have two teams out there). He started that game at shortstop and went 0-2. Three days later he was back on the field against one of the Diamondbacks’ teams (they also have two teams out there) and this time he was starting in center. He went hitless that day, too.

    Three days later Sheng-En Lin played in his first road game and he also picked up his first hit and his first walk as a professional, going 1-3 on the day. Three days after that he picked up his first extra-base hit – a triple – against the Cubs. Two days after that he got his first start as a designated hitter and went 1-4 with his first career run batted in. Over the next week he played in three games and went 0-8 with two walks and seven strikeouts. His final game of the season came on August 22nd against the other Diamondbacks team in the complex league and he closed out the season going 2-5 with a walk, two runs, and two runs batted in.

    For all 2023 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).

    Sheng-En Lin Scouting Report

    Position: Infield/Outfield | B/T: L/R

    Height: 5′ 11″ | Weight: 185 lbs. | Acquired: International FA (2023)| Born: September 1, 2005

    Hitting | He has an average hit tool.

    Power | He has average power potential.

    Speed | He has plus speed.

    Defense | See below.

    Arm | He has a plus-plus arm.

    While playing in high school and for the Taiwanese National Team, Sheng-En Lin pitched and played in the field. On the mound he was up to 99 MPH with secondary offerings that showed potential. The Reds, though, felt his potential as a position player was a bit better and for now will be exploring things in the field and in the batters box with regards to his development.

    Which position he winds up at isn’t really known yet. The Reds are going to play him at several spots to see which one fits best, but with his athleticism, speed, and his arm, the leading candidates are the two spots he played in 2023 – shortstop and center field.

    At the plate he struggled a bit in a limited sample size out in Arizona. It’s not worth looking too much at his stats, though. He joined a league after several months of not playing games and only played every few days after that.

    The scouting reports suggest an advanced approach at the plate and a good hit tool. He also has some power potential that he could tap into down the line with further development. Right now the hit tool is ahead of the power. His speed could also be an asset on the bases, though he didn’t get much of a chance to show that off in 2023.

    There’s a lot of development to come for Sheng-En Lin. He doesn’t really have a position yet, though that’s more due to exploration than an inability to play somewhere due to a lack of skill. Still, he’s going to have a little bit of a learning curve to overcome.

    While he showed promise on the mound as an amateur, and some teams did want to sign him as a pitcher instead of a hitter, the mound seems to be a fallback plan for now.

    Video

    None available

    Sheng-En Lin Spray Chart

    Interesting Stat on Sheng-En Lin

    He walked in six of the nine games he played. Of the three games he didn’t walk in, only one of them saw him get four plate appearances.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    9 Responses

    2. I would like to see the Reds use him as a 2 way player at least until he plays at Daytona. The article mentions that he got up to 99mph, any other pitches like a curveball or a breaking ball?

    3. Doug i know Shoehi is one of one, but whats the reason teams dont try and see if guys like this can be a shoehi-lite player? The dude shows he has talent at both positions, is there really no way to develop him at both positions without hurting one or the other?

      1. I think they believe it’s unlikely that you can develop a player that can do both things well enough to be more valuable than to just develop that guy doing one of the things.

      2. The toughest thing to do is hit a baseball well, so that’s where to start to see what the potential is. Probably easier to transition to pitching from being a fielder, especially if you’ve done it before. If that happens he may only get to be a RP vs SP.

    4. Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

      Scouting grades: Fastball 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

      I don’t know what Shoehi’s scouting grades would have been but I’m guessing they would have been more impressive than this. I’m OK with them focusing Lin on his best path to make it to the majors. Trying to do both would likely keep him from doing either. “Jack of all trades but master of none” comes to mind.

      1. What is the source of the above scouting grade for Mr. Lin’s FB?

        The current MLB fastball velocity (FBV) scouting-scale-grade for young Mr. Lin’s 99 mph fastball would be an 80, which is “top of the scale;” FBV 80 grade puts him in the same grade-category as 2023 #1 MLB draft pick Paul Skenes, and the Reds’ Hunter Greene, Chase Petty, Zach Maxwell, and Graham Ashcraft, for example. Lin’s FBV grade could not possibly be a 55. My still devloping 19 year-old college pitcher son (coached for over ten years by MLB pitching coaches and players) has a FB well into the 90s that is over a 55 grade but is nowhere near 99. For fastballs, similar to SAT/ACT/LSAT/MCAT/GMAT test scores, at the upper end of the scored population/sample, each marginal addition of 1 mph or point, respectively, becomes increasingly hard to achieve and represents accomplishment far in excess of what 1 mere point otherwise seemingly would represent.

        Note that besides the FBV grade, for pitchers and their pitches, there are command, secondary pitch, durability, and increasingly, athleticism/power grades.

        1. That’s the MLB Pipeline grade, and “touched 99” is not “throws 99”. Reports were that he was sitting 93-94. Good velo, no doubt, but it’s not the same as the handful of guys that actually throw 99.

      2. A fringe-average player according to the scouts.
        Well, I think Sheng-en Lin has enough time in 2024 to show off what he can do…Obviously, the Reds saw something good to spend $1,2MM to him on IFA signing bonus…

    5. In thinking or two-way players I believe Trey Faltine did some pitching in his amateur. Since his offensive output was borderline embarrassing(.103 BA)in 2023 and there seems to be ample middle infielders who can hit maybe he should try pitching.

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