Baltimore Orioles: 2014 Season Grades – Starting Pitchers

Oct 3, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen (16) pitches against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of game two of the 2014 ALDS playoff baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Wei-Yin Chen has now pitched three years for the Baltimore Orioles with a combined record of 35-24 and ERA of 3.86 in 515 innings.

But the “best Chen” we have seen was this past year. Though I am not an insider enough to state the following with facts or anecdotes, it certainly seems to me that Chen is a very different physical specimen than what arrived from Taiwan before the 2012 season. He seems much stronger and more durable and athletic. My guess is that American-style offseason fitness and strength training has had an impact.

Chen tallied 16 wins against six losses, and to do that, a pitcher has to do a lot of things well. His ERA was 3.54 this season, as compared to a 4.04 combined for the first two campaigns. A statistic that especially jumps out is that he walked four fewer batter this year as compared to 2013, while throwing 49 more innings… bringing his WHIP numbers down from 1.32 to 1.23. That makes a big difference.

Chen is a very solid middle of the rotation type of pitcher, and the Orioles were fortunate to have had a good season from him. We will give him a seasonal grade of A-.