Frederick, MD -- The San Diego Padres announced that the team signed international free agent LHP Zack Qin.
A native of Beijing, China, Qin pitched for the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League and the Appalachian League’s Burlington Sock Puppets this summer. He is the MLB Draft League’s first player to be signed by a Major League organization as an international free agent.
Qin, 17, made eight relief appearances for the Keys during the first half of the MLB Draft League season, recording seven strikeouts in 9.1 innings. He did not allow a run in four outings, including his final three June appearances, and delivered two hitless frames on July 9 against Trenton.
Qin was one of three players from the MLB China Academy to play for Frederick in the first half of the MLB Draft League, along with Petey Guo and Joe Zhu. They were the only players from China to participate in the MLB Draft League for the 2022 summer.
After completing the first half of the MLB Draft League season with the Keys, Qin joined the Appalachian League and pitched in four games for Burlington. He completed a season-high four innings in his only Sock Puppets start, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts against Kingsport on Aug. 4.
Qin compiled a 7.58 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 19 innings (12 games) between the MLB Draft and Appalachian Leagues.
For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague & @draftleaguedata on Twitter, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.
For more information on the Frederick Keys, please contact Gareth Kwok at gkwok@FrederickKeys.com.
