Yu-Min Lin - 2/14/24

The Diamondbacks have found another exciting pitching prospect in Yu-Min Lin

Prospect Spotlight 🔦

Yu-Min Lin – Age: 20– B/T: L/L, 5’11” 160 – Diamondbacks (Double-A)

• Born: 7/12/2003 in Taitung, Chinese Taipei

• Acquired: IFA, December 2021

It’s always tricky for US based prospect followers to get a feel for the international market, so Yu-Min Lin signed with relatively little fanfare in December 2021. Signed by the Diamondbacks for $525K, the left-hander has quickly become a top pitching prospect despite being of smaller stature with limited velocity. Although he’s still young — he’ll turn 20-years-old this season — Lin figures to fit into the Diamondbacks plans relatively soon. Today, we’ll take a look at what he brings to the table and how his arsenal will potentially play at the big league level.

From a physical perspective, Lin is slight in stature, standing at 5'11'' and weighing just ~160 pounds. He’s a good on-mound athlete, with solid body control throughout his delivery. He rotates well, but still needs to add some strength, especially given that currently his fastball tops out in the low 90s and dips below 90mph regularly. His delivery is somewhat unique. He throws from a semi-windup with a ¾ arm slot. He pulls the ball from his glove straight down, which adds a lot of length to the arm circle, and makes for a unique look. There is a fair amount of recoil here, which makes me a little concerned about his long-term arm health, but arm issues are tricky to forecast in general. Lin rotates well, gets good hip-shoulder separation, stays in-line despite some serious head tilt towards third base, and has a deep back knee load that makes for an explosive delivery. The mechanical pieces are here for him to throw hard, the physicality just needs to improve.

Typically, pitchers who live in the upper 80s don't make it to pro ball, let alone pitch well, and yet Lin has had some success. He’s able to succeed with his fastball due to its shape, which gets plenty of carry and works well up in the zone. Lin has a really deep arsenal, with plus shapes on his curveball, slider, and changeup. It’s a tough call between his curveball or changeup as his best pitch, as they are both plus pitches that could be potentially effective at the big league level.