AIWAN – The Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms with Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) left-hander Fu-Te Ni, according to UDN reports.

Considered the top southpaw in Taiwan’s struggling professional league, Ni posted a 5-12 record last season for the Chinatrust Whales with a 3.34 ERA. However, the second-year hurler compiled a league-high 132 strikeouts in 145 1/3 innings and just 35 walks.

Ni, who is the second player from the CPBL to sign with a Major League Baseball (MLB) club, has a four-pitch arsenal (slider, curve, changeup, and forkball) and throws consistently in the 87-89 mph range. Although terms of the contract have not been disclosed, he will receive a hefty raise from his 2008 monthly salary of $3,600.

In previous years, successful CPBL players including Ming-Chieh Hsu, Chun-Yang Tsao, Ying-Chieh Lin, En-Yu Lin, and Wen-Bin Chen have made the jump to Japan and competed in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) after starting their careers in the CPBL.

Ni was recently selected by the Brother Elephants in a Special Draft consisting of players from the disbanded dmedia T-Rex and Chinatrust Whales franchises.

Taiwan’s professional baseball league, plagued with a long history of game-fixing scandals, will play the 2009 season with only four teams.

Source: Taiwan Baseball

Tags: Taiwan