JAPAN – The Yomiuri Giants announced on Friday that they signed 20-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Chih-Lung Huang to an Ikusei contract. Huang possesses a fastball in the low 90s range and reportedly turned down an offer of $125K from the Texas Rangers last year.

The 5′9″, 165 pound right-hander is a former top prospect who enjoyed a storied career as a member of Taiwan’s junior national team. He touched 94 mph a few years ago and was clocked around 86-90 mph in a recent college tournament.

Huang, who had been training with the Giants since the end of October, also throws a slider and a forkball. He was 1-2 with a 4.81 ERA in four appearances at the 2009 IBAF Baseball World Cup for the Chinese Taipei National Team.

Photo courtesy of Taiwan Baseball

Tags: Japan, Taiwan