This is a feature I had back in 2017 but got lazy and discontinued it after a few months. In a slightly different format, I bring you the first of many weekly CPBL round-ups.

Uni Lions

The Lions have started the season well and have a 4-2 record after 6 games. The season started with a 6-2 loss away to Lamigo Monkeys before winning twice against the Guardians and Monkeys in Tainan. On Sunday, the Lions had a shocker falling to an 8-3 home defeat to the said Monkeys.

Positives so far include; leadoff hitter Chen Chieh Hsien has looked great with the bat, rookie Liu Hsuan Ta has pitched well out the bullpen and Chen Yun Wen, has looked good too in the closer role when called upon. Chinen Kohya, the Lions 4th foreign pitcher has also made a quiet but decent start compared to most players out the bullpen. Every starting pitcher has had started solidly enough too.

Negatives are the bullpen, hitting and fielding. The Lions bullpen isn’t looking great with ERA numbers at 11.57, 12.27 and 21.60. The hitting over the first 6 games has been poor, aside from Chen Chieh Hsien no player is averaging over 0.300. Fielding has also been worryingly bad, with 11 errors in 6 games.

Lamigo Monkeys

The post-Wang Po Jung era has begun with a 3-4 record. 2-2 against the aforementioned Lions and 1-2 with Chinatrust Brothers. Lamigo are trying new things out, with no 98 Chen Chen-Wei leading off and has an average at 0.304. 1B Liang Jia-Rong and CF Huang Jing-Wei have also started most games. Rookie pitcher Weng Wei-Chun made his debut on Sunday and looked impressive.

The Monkeys looked good with the bat, all 9 of their starters from Sunday are averaging 0.300 at this early stage. Their pitching ERA is the highest in the league but all 4 defeats have been within 4 runs.

Fubon Guardians

Fubon have started with a 2-3 record, with 2-1 v Chinatrust Brothers and 0-2 with the Lions. All 5 games so far all away from Xinzhuang Stadium.

The main positive so far is Henry Sosa, who whilst 1-1 after 2 games is an extremely fast pitcher and was tremendous, despite pitching up a loss in Tainan, he gave up 1 run over 8 innings! Sosa and Mike Loree when fit and available to play could end up being the most dangerous pair of starters in the league.

Fubon have yet to play at home, so there’s little else to say.

Chinatrust Brothers

Brothers have started 2-1 v Lamigo Monkeys and 1-2 v Fubon Guardians. A mixed start for the Taichung side who are currently only hitting 0.226 as a team.

This week’s fixtures

Uni Lions v Chinatrust Brothers @ Chengcing Lake on Wednesday at 6:35, on Thursday at 5:05.

Fubon Guardians v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Tuesday at 6:35 and Thursday at 5:05

Chinatrust Brothers v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Friday/Saturday at 5:05 and Sunday 2:05.

Uni Lions v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang on Friday/Saturday at 5:05 and Sunday 2:05.

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