When the Cincinnati Reds signed Sheng-En Lin after he graduated high school in Taiwan in the summer of 2023 many teams preferred him as a pitcher over a position player. Cincinnati didn’t take pitching off of the table exactly, but for both 2023 and 2024 during the regular seasons he focused on being a position player and didn’t get on the mound until after the 2024 campaign.
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After making a transition back to the mound in the bridge league and instructs in 2024, Sheng En-Lin began 2025 with the complex league Reds and was relegated to being the team’s designated hitter at times with no time spent in the field as he was also in their starting rotation. After finding success as a hitter in 2024 where he hit .308/.418/.419, things did not go nearly as well in more limited action at the plate and intermittent playing time. While he did make more contact, walk more often, and hit for more power when he did find hits, his BABIP went from an entirely unsustainable .481 in 2024 to the other extreme of .232 in 2025. That led to him hitting just .172/.348/.310 in 113 plate appearances.
On May 22nd the right-hander would take the mound for the first time in a game as a professional – at least as far as the game counting as an official game. Facing off against the Giants that day he allowed a solo home run as the lone man to reach base in his 2.0 innings with three strikeouts. He was rather limited in his usage early on and his next three outings lasted 1.2, 3.0, and 2.0 innings as he allowed two earned runs on six hits and two walks to go along with nine strikeouts in that 6.2 inning stretch.
On June 19th he’d get to face the Giants again and this time he matched a season high at that point with 3.0 innings of hitless baseball. He would walk two batters and strike out four batters. A week later he would face the same club again and this time they got the best of the matchup as they scored three runs on three hits and three walks in 3.0 innings.
The then 19-year-old was solid in his next two outings, throwing a combined 7.2 innings with three earned runs, two walks, and 13 strikeouts as he faced the Athletics and Brewers. As the complex league wound down, the right-handed pitcher would make two final starts and both came against the Guardians and they were nearly identical outings. In both games he allowed one hit, struck out four, and didn’t give up a run in 4.0 innings. He had one walk between the two outings.
Two weeks after the complex league ended, Sheng-En Lin was promoted to join Single-A Daytona and the Reds made the decision to have him focus solely on pitching moving forward. In his first outing with the Tortugas he threw 4.0 hitless innings against Jupiter and struck out four batters. His next two outings were a bit of a struggle as Fort Myers scored three runs against him in 3.0 innings and Bradenton roughed him up in 1.2 innings a week later as they scored two earned and another unearned against him. He would rebound in his final two regular season starts, allowing two runs in a combined 8.0 innings. The Tortugas would make the playoffs and Lin would pitch in the championship series, giving up one earned in 4.0 innings against Lakeland to complete his 2025.
For all 2025 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).
Position: Right-handed pitcher | B/T: R/R
Height: 5′ 11″ | Weight: 185 lbs. | Acquired: International FA (2023) | Born: September 1, 2005
Fastball | In the past the pitch had touched the upper 90’s, but it currently sits in the low 90’s with good movement.
Slider | A fringe-average offering in the mid-to-upper 70’s.
Curve | An above-average pitch that works in the mid 70’s.
Change Up | An above-average pitch that works in the low 80’s with good movement.
As a guy who hasn’t really pitched competitively in two years, Sheng-En Lin performed very well in 2025. He really stood out with his approach on the mound. He was able to mix-and-match well, throw strikes with all of his pitches, and he hides the ball well.
Those things are all great to see from a guy who doesn’t have a ton of pitching experience as a professional and was away from the mound for two years after graduating high school. But that time off of the mound also led to a drop in velocity. While his fastball does have good movement it’s going to likely need more oomph behind it if he’s going to be more than a bottom of the rotation pitcher.
The good news there is that he’s athletic and he’s shown better velocity in the past. With his focus now being on the mound and not trying to sort of kind of be a two-way player it could allow him to regain some or all of that velocity that he had shown before signing with the Reds when he was 17-years-old. If he’s able to really find a few extra MPH his ceiling changes in a big way. The floor can be tougher, though, if he’s going to sit in the low 90’s with his fastball because sliding to the bullpen doesn’t look like a good plan at that velocity for most guys either.
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Interesting Stat on Sheng-En Lin
Hitters in the complex league hit .174/.260/.321 against him. Not including the playoffs, opposing hitters hit just .159/.232/.254 against him in the Florida State League.