Name (Japanese): 呂 彦青
Name (Chinese): 呂 彥青
Date of Birth: March 10, 1996
Hometown: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
High School: National Taiwan University of Physical Education and Sport
Family Status: Single
Position: Starting Pitcher
Height: 178 cm (5’10”)
Weight: 72 kg (159 lbs)
Throws/Bats: Left/Left
Wore #: 26
Signed With Tigers on: November 6, 2017
Left the Tigers on: December 2, 2020
Warm-Up Song: Tones and I – Dance Monkey
Social Media: Instagram
Western League (NPB Farm) Career Stats:
| Yr | Team | ERA | GP | CG | SO | No BB | W | L | SV | W% | IP | H | HR | K | K/9 | BB | HBP | R | ER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Tigers | 4.31 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | .400 | 48.0 | 49 | 9 | 28 | 5.25 | 19 | 2 | 25 | 23 |
| 2019 | Tigers | 4.76 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 56.2 | 60 | 5 | 53 | 7.95 | 32 | 5 | 31 | 30 |
| 2020 | Tigers | 3.15 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .200 | 40.0 | 38 | 4 | 36 | 8.10 | 17 | 1 | 24 | 14 |
| Career | 4.17 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 1 | .222 | 144.2 | 147 | 18 | 117 | 7.28 | 68 | 8 | 80 | 67 |
Brief Biography
Yen-Ching Lu was born and raised in Taiwan. It was not until his third year of high school that he got the attention of national media for his pitching ability. He participated in multiple tournaments as a representative of Taiwan, including the 2017 BFA Asian Baseball Championship. While facing Japan in the finals, Lu held his opponent to just 1 hit through 4 innings, but ultimately lost the game, partly due to his own team’s errors.
Lu was still in university when he signed a contract with the Hanshin Tigers on November 6, 2017. After joining the team’s fall practices at Naruohama, he returned to Taiwan to focus on his studies. However, he returned to Japan in January and participated in the rookies’ voluntary training program throughout the month.
Despite showing signs of improvement and development, the Tigers announced at the end of the 2020 season that they would not be signing Lu to another contract for 2021. He was unable to make a single appearance on the top squad in his three seasons with the team.