Lin was signed as an international free agent in June of 2012 out of Taiwan as a shortstop, but quickly embraced a utility role in the lower minors, moving around from shortstop to second base, third base, and then into a center field role as he advanced through the system. After starting the season at Double-A Portland this year, batting .302 over 48 games, he was promoted directly to the majors on June 24, and he performed well, playing 19 games across the infield (including six starts at shortstop, six at second base and two at third base) and hitting .280 with a pair of triples and a tidy .3y79 on-base percentage. He was optioned back to Pawtucket on July 17th, where he has hit .256 over 19 games.

In my two-game look, I saw him play both second base and center field, and he is being developed to play a utility role up the middle of the field while also playing some third base. He has a compact but athletic body and is fully developed at this point after adding some strength this offseason, and he shows plus athleticism with quick-twitch actions in the field. His swing is short and quick and geared more towards line drives, and this year he looks like he is taking a more aggressive approach at the plate trying to drive the ball into the gaps versus the more flick the bat at pitches with a contact-oriented approach that I’ve seen in the past. With well-below-average power and limited loft and leverage in the swing, he profiles more as a singles- and doubles-type hitter who can manipulate the barrel and fight off pitches that he can’t handle, and overall the hit tool projects as average.

On the bases, Lin is a plus runner underway, and though he gets from first-to-third base well, he’s not going to steal too many bases. He showed solid-average defensive ability in center field with good reads and routes even as he is still relatively new to the position. At second based he looked above average, with quickness, good footwork and agility, and soft hands. His arm is average, and he can throw accurately when on the run, and the arm is serviceable for centerfield but he won’t be throwing too many baserunners out purely on arm strength. He has the look of a Role 45, utility player who value can add some flexibility to a 25-man roster thanks to the hit tool and athleticism to handle multiple positions at an average-or-better level.