(2052.05) Rookie Profile: Cheng-ji Wei
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(2052.05) Rookie Profile: Cheng-ji Wei
Cheng-ji Wei, IF
Hometown: Shulin, New Taipei City, Taiwan
BBA debut: Apr 1, 2052
Cheng-ji Wei grew up in Shulin, a suburb on the outskirts of New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Of course, Taipei is a big baseball mecca, with the high popularity of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), as well as the CBL, the affiliate league of the GBC, having multiple teams in the metropolitan area. Most Taiwanese baseball players end up in either the CPBL or the CBL when they go pro. But Wei always had his sights set on the BBA.
He lucked out, then, when New Orleans signed him to a minor league contract as a 16-year-old. It was rare, especially in the 2040s, for BBA teams to have much of a scouting presence in the Far East, since all the best players would inevitably get drafted into the UMEBA, which is where the big money was back then. But occasionally, some good talent would slip through the cracks, which is what happened with Wei. So credit New Orleans for having him on their radar.
In 2045, Wei was named the #69 prospect in the BBA. As nice as this was, it was also a bit premature, since he had yet to play in a professional game, and still had another two years in the Crawdads’ International Complex.
Over the next two years, his rank improved to #52, and he was finally promoted to Rookie League in 2047, where he became the starting third baseman for the Bartlett Jazz. He had a lot to live up to, and now it was finally his chance to demonstrate that he deserved his spot on that top prospects list.
He showed glimpses of promise in Rookie ball, hitting .251 and demonstrating some good gap power with a team-leading 18 doubles.
As he slowly climbed New Orleans’ minor-league ranks, he worked hard on improving his plate discipline, and it showed. In 2050, Wei led the Provost League with 108 walks, and accomplished the rare feat of finishing a season with more walks than strikeouts.
By 2052, his stock had dropped slightly, dipping to #71 on the prospects list, in part because his bat hadn’t come around the way some had hoped it would. Despite posting eye-popping walk totals, his batting average was still hovering around .260, and he was starting to strike out more often.
Maybe that was the reason New Orleans left him unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft. Or maybe it was their commitment to a strong defense, a tool which Wei doesn’t have. (Despite his ability to play almost any position, he plays them all poorly, at best.) Still, from Boise’s perspective, it was a steal to nab a Top-100 prospect in the draft, especially picking all the way down at 15th.
Now, Boise is committed to keeping Wei. Though he hasn’t yet settled into an everyday role, his promise was enough for Boise to trade away their former top second base prospect, Ben Copeland, in a deal with Brooklyn earlier this season.
As a bench player, Wei is only batting .189, but his versatility has made him indispensable, starting games at second, third, shortstop and left field for Boise this season (though he often needs a defensive replacement in the later innings). He’s also delivering on his calling card as someone who takes a lot of walks, with his 15.2% walk rate the third-highest on the team, behind two on-base machines, Jim Antolin and Jack Nichols. And as of today, Wei has tallied 17 walks to just 20 strikeouts, so he’s got some work to do, but the watch is officially on to see whether he can walk more than he strikes out.
Wei is not bothered by his low batting average, or by the prospect of not living up to the high expectations that were placed on him as a teenager. If you ask him about any of that, he’ll tell you it’s not even on his mind. His sole focus now is the next game on Boise’s schedule, and putting together a good at bat whenever his manager calls on him. He made it to the BBA, and he intends to stay there, which means he can’t take any day for granted.
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