As Steven Kwan gained a foothold in the Guardians' line, another Chinese teenager ascended to baseball's top hall. Today, there is also a group of players from China who are working the road of baseball. Generally speaking, international free agent signings occur when players are 16 or 17 years old, they will get a contract from a major league team, then pack their bags and go to the minor leagues to start their own "monster upgrade". However, in fact, if you want to board the major league, there is not only one way to go. Going to a university in the United States and then attending mlb's annual draft is another viable path.
MLB's draft is held every year in the middle of the season, and its most well-known point is the large number of draft rounds and the large number of people selected. Another special point is that mlb drafts are automatically qualified if they meet the criteria, and they do not need to submit a statement or submit an application. To qualify for the MLB Draft, players must be residents of or attend school in the United States, Canada, or other U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico. Players may not have signed any MLB or minor league contracts. High school players can only run after graduation, and college players are qualified after the third year of college or after the age of 21 (any of the conditions are met). Community college and college students are readily available.
Compared with high school players, college players are usually regarded as "higher completion", "faster maturity", "short-term combat strength" in the draft, and some teams prefer college students in the draft, because the maturity of players is higher, which also means that the probability of investment failure is slightly lower.
Now let's introduce the Chinese players who went to American universities to study, play ball, and prepare to go through the MLB draft!
Roger Rang
Height/Weight: 188cm/93kg
Age: 20 years old
School: Arizona Western College
Position: Pitcher
In 2010, he studied baseball under the guidance of South Korean coach Tian Changji in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, and joined the MLB Development Center in 2015. In December 2021, he joined Western Arizona College, which is also the 11th strongest school in the NJCAA league this season, and has also produced two outstanding major league players, Sergio Romo and Bengie Molina. Hua Dan has only played 11 games so far, and in 10.2 innings, he has contributed eight triples.
Hua Dan only let the game video
Qiang Feng
Height/weight: 188cm/104kg
Age: 19 years old
School: Arizona Western College
Location: 1/3rd base
In 2014, he officially entered the MLB Baseball Development Center, went to Australia at the end of 2018 to play in ABL Professional Baseball, and represented China in the MLB World Select Team in the United States in October 2019. In the summer of 2021, Feng Qiang enrolled in Western Arizona College. At present, Feng Qiang has played in a total of 12 games, with an average strike rate of .222, in addition to 1 second-base homer, 1 home run, and 5 points.
Jimmy Zhang
Height/weight: 178cm/68kg
Age: 19 years old
School: Cuesta College
Position: Pitcher
In 2015, he won the best pitcher of the championship in the "Panda Cup" in Guangdong, and Zhang He has repeatedly traveled to South Korea, Japan and other places to win many good results. In 2019, he left for TCA Middle School in New Jersey, USA to study and train, and won the third place in the 18U group with the MLB Baseball Development Center team at the Bebirus World Series that year. In 2020, Zhang He finished runners-up in the 21U Youth League and enrolled at Cuesta Academy this year, currently playing 4 games, shooting 3 innings and winning 3 strikeouts. Cuesta Academy has produced five major league players, and in recent years, players have embarked on a professional path.
Ray Zhang
Height/weight: 185cm/88kg
Age: 20 years old
School: Rollins College
Position: Pitcher
Yida, who served as the captain of the Beijing Chaoyang District baseball team for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018, won the third place in the Babe Ruth World Series in 2019. He was selected for the WBSC U23 Chinese national baseball team in 2021 and joined Rawlings College in the same year. In the NCAA Division II rankings, Rawlings College ranks ninth in the Nation, and the historic Rollins College has also produced Hall of Famer Rube Waddell and is the alma mater of Clay Bellinger, the father of Dodgers fielder Cody Bellinger. At present, Zhang Yanyida has thrown 8 innings, the record is 2 wins and 0 losses, and the self-blame rate is 1.13. In eight inning pitches, he contributed 11 strikeouts, gave five escorts and was hit with three hits.
Video source: Rawlins Academy baseball team
Leo Li
Height/weight: 175cm/79kg
Age: 24 years old
School: Washington University in St. Louis
Position: Pitcher
He started baseball in elementary school in 2006, joined the MLB Baseball Development Centre in 2010, and joined Elon University in 2016. In 2017, he was selected for the Chinese national team at the Asian Baseball Championships, and the following year he transferred to Azusa Pacific University. In 2021, Li Jiajie enrolled in the graduate program of Washington University in St. Louis. The school has also produced a number of major league players, including four-time All-Star Norm Sieburn.
Sue Sun
Height/Weight: 185cm/75kg
Age: 21 years old
School: Augustana University
Position: Pitcher
Mr. Sun joined the MLB Baseball Development Center in June 2016 and spent the next two years attending the MLB Taiwan Elite Camp in the summer and the MLB World Select Team in the same year. At the end of 2018, Sun Yicong traveled to Trenton Catholic Academy to experience American high school life, and a month later traveled to Australia to participate in local professional baseball competitions. After coming to the United States the following year to study the language, Sun joined August 2020 at August 2020 and hone his skills in the summer of 2021 in the summer of 2021. Currently, Augustana College is ranked 17th in the NCAA Division II, and 20 players have gone professional from here since 2017.
Martin Ding
Height/weight: 193cm/100kg
Age: 19 years old
School: Northern Kentucky Univeristy
Position: Pitcher
After showing his strength at the 2014 National Junior Baseball Championship, Ding joined the MLB Baseball Development Center in 2015. He entered the Okotoks Dawgs Academy in 2018 and received the 2019 18U National Champions hosted by Perfect Game the following year. In the same year, he participated in the Alberta 16U team, won the 2019 Western Canadian Summer Games championship, and was selected for the 2019 Canadian T12 show list held by the BlueBirds, but unfortunately did not participate due to injury. Ding played in the WCBL Western Canadian Summer Baseball League last year and enrolled at NCAA Division I's Northern Kentucky University this year. Nate Jones, a backup pitcher who has spent time with the White Sox, Reds, Warriors, Dodgers and other teams, is also an alumnus of Ding Ruofei.
These are the baseball players who are currently working in the NCAA! Looking forward to seeing them in mlb in the future!
*Note: The above images/video materials are provided by the players