Rays trade Kevin Jepsen to Twins for prospects Chih-Wei Hu, Alexis Tapia

The Minnesota Twins bolstered their bullpen at the trade deadline Friday afternoon, acquiring relief pitcher Kevin Jepsen from the Tampa Bay Rays. In exchange, the Rays receive a pair of right-handed pitching prospects: Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia. Here's a quick summary.

Chih-Wei Hu, RHP: Chih-Wei Hu was signed by the Twins as a free agent from Taiwan in 2012 for $220,000. He has pitched very well at the lower levels of the Minnesota farm system, posting a 2.29 ERA with a 48/13 K/BB in 55 innings for Low-A Cedar Rapids in 2014, followed by a 2.44 ERA and a 73/19 K/BB in 85 innings this year for High-A Fort Myers.

Hu is a 21-year-old right-hander listed at 6-1, 210 pounds. Despite his impressive statistical performance his stock with scouts is not extremely high. He lacks the physical projection that teams want in a pitcher his age and is unlikely to gain much additional velocity. That said, he does throw 90-92 MPH (occasionally a bit higher) and the fastball plays up due to the contrast with his palmball.

Reports on the quality of this palmball vary: some observers say it is a very good, even excellent pitch, while others rate it as fringy at best. It has worked just fine against A-ball hitters. We need to see what happens at higher levels, but Hu has good command and a chance to be a workhorse fourth starter type, or perhaps a reliever.


Alexis Tapia, RHP: Alexis Tapia was signed out of Venezuela in 2012 and has performed very well in rookie ball. He posted a 3.20 ERA with a 36/6 K/BB in 45 innings in the Gulf Coast League in 2014, followed by a 3.82 ERA with a 33/7 K/BB in 33 innings for Elizabethton in the Appalachian League this year.

Tapia is a 19-year-old 6-2, 190 pound right-hander. Reports are vague at this time but point to intriguing physical projectability and good control for a pitcher his age. He has a sharp 101/18 K/BB in 122 innings at the rookie levels, numbers which back up the control reports.

Jepsen is a decent reliever and will help the Twins pen in the short run, but both Hu and Tapia are quite interesting and provide some potential long-term value. For the Rays, this is a good return for a 31-year-old relief arm. Hu in particular looks to me like a pitcher who is undervalued by traditional scouting assessment methods.