Posted by Michael Street on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 3:06 am

The 2009 Minor League Futures Game roster was announced recently, making it a good time to check back with our Asian prospect list to see who made it—and who didn’t—and how they’re doing. The Futures Game pits a roster of American stars against international stars, in a showdown during All-Star weekend (this year’s will be played Sunday, July 12).

For the past two seasons, the Futures Game MVP has been an Asian player: Boston’s Che Hsuan Lin in 2008, and Chin-Lung Hu in 2007—both appear on this list, but neither was invited to this year’s Futures Game.

1. Junichi Tazawa has lived up to the hype so far. The little pitcher that started the big war was invited to the Futures game, and with good reason. In 14 starts with the AA Portland Sea Dogs, Tazawa has a 7-4 record, with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. His secondary ratios show this is no fluke. His 2.84 BB/K shows his control is excellent, and he’s dominating with 8.3 K/9, while his 2.9 BB/9 should keep him away from the walk-happy ways of his idol, Daisuke Matsuzaka. He’s currently listed on the 7-day DL, but there’s no indication that this is serious.

2. Che-Hsuan Lin has put up numbers at single-A this year nearly identical to his 2008 stats, but he got the Futures snub. Most likely, this is because Tazawa and American Casey Kelley gave the Boston organization its maximum of two Futures Game representatives. His .256/.357/.350 line seems underwhelming, but Lin’s known more for his glove, not his bat. In 69 games, he’s got 10 outfield assists, plus a .963 fielding percentage and a 2.28 RF/G. If he could develop even just a little more power—he’s got 11 2B and 4 HR in 292 PAs this year—he might be a Sea Dog before the end of this year.

3. Chia-Jen Lo is another player who earned his Futures invite. He’s already been promoted from High-A Lancaster to AA Corpus Christi in the Texas League, and his numbers at both levels are almost identical: 1.78 ERA in 25.1 IP in Lancaster, and 1.93 ERA in 9.1 IP in Corpus Christi. The underlying stats are a little different, as he dominated high-A with 12.8 K/9, 2.77 K/BB, and just 3.6 H/9, but AA hitters are collecting 7.7 H/9 (almost double), and he’s only managing 7.7 K/9 and 1.14 K/BB. Still, those are excellent lines overall, and he’s certainly proven that he can make the adjustment. We might see him sooner instead of later at this rate; think 2010.

4. Matt Tuiasosopo has been waiting for a break like the one given to him by Adrian Beltre’s surgery to remove bone spurs from his shoulder. Beltre will be out the rest of 2009, giving Seattle’s AAA 3B prospect a shot to finish out the season in the bigs. The problem is, Tuiasosopo went under the knife a month ago himself to remove bone chips from his elbow. He could be back this year, but probably won’t be ready for MLB play.

5. Hak-Ju Lee, playing with the short-season (low-A) Boise Hawks, simply hasn’t had enough time to make the impact needed to make the Futures game. The Hawks have played 10 games, and the Korean shortstop has been their offensive star. In 44 PAs, Lee has hit .359/.432/.462, with 4 doubles and 5 RBI among his 14 hits. Though he’s got a .927 Fielding percentage, his 5.10 RF/G is excellent. Expect to see Lee in the 2010 Futures Game—and in the majors not too many years after that.

6. Dae Eun Rhee is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and has yet to throw a pitch in a game.

7. Yung-chi Chen opened the season in AA, which I found confusing since he’d spent the year before at AAA, but he didn’t stay down there long, hitting .324/.387/.412 in 17 games while playing 2B and 3B. He was promoted to AAA Sacramento on May 1, as the A’s dealt with injuries to Eric Chavez and Mark Ellis. Unfortunately for Chen, he played all of 5 games before hitting the DL with a sore knee, and he hasn’t played since. Though his overall numbers are strong (.369/.436/.476), the injury and lack of PT are the clear reason why Chen won’t return to the Futures Game.

8.  Fu-te Ni is the real snub on this list, but there may be a very good reason for that. After dominating AAA hitting in relief, racking up 32 strikeouts in 34.2 IP against just 9 walks, the Taiwanese lefty has a 3-0 record, 2.60 ERA and a near-microscopic 0.60 WHIP. And, if you believe the East Windup Chronicle, he’s also got a ticket to the bigs. Since the Futures Game is more of a PR stunt than the All-Star Game (if you can imagine that), I don’t doubt that the Tigers would tell the league not to choose a player they’d be calling up soon. That’s the only reason I can figure, anyway, because this guy’s been good.

9. Kyeon Kang earned a Futures Game berth, and the left-field Korean prospect showed why he’s got Tampa Bay execs excited. Hitting .279/.336/.457—nearly identical to his ratios last year—he’s also jacked up his counting stats. His 12 doubles and 5 triples are on a pace to reach career highs (they’ve almost reached his totals of 15 and 7 from 2008), even though his one home run is definitely down from last year’s 6. Though he’s only in Class A now, he’ll look to move up a level next season, especially if he can impress in this year’s Futures Game.

10. Chin-Lung Hu seems to be stagnating in AAA, and he’s fallen really far from that 2007 MVP award. Despite being past the blurred vision that held him back last year, Hu has regressed from his 2008 stats. In fact, his .258/.301/.321 line would be his worst since 2006, when he advanced from high-A Vero Beach to AA Jacksonville. At this rate, he’s not only losing his grip as a major-league utilityman, the 25-year-old may no longer be a viable minor-league utilityman. And he’s certainly not worthy of being on this list anymore, let alone the Futures Game roster.