SURPRISE, Ariz. | Chin-hui Tsao grew up in Taiwan believing that pitchers throw every day, nearly all day, because, well, that&#8217;s what they do.</p><p>It was typical, he recalls, to loosen up in the outfield by throwing for 30 minutes or so just to get ready for his regular bullpen workout. And then throw for three hours in that workout.</p><p>Three hours.</p><p>And still he wasn&#8217;t finished.</p><p>Next came another hour of throwing live batting practice to hitters.</p><p>&#8220;I only played in Taiwan,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So I didn&#8217;t know any difference. I thought pitchers were supposed to do that. It wasn&#8217;t until I came over here &#8230; then it was like, &#8216;Oh, it&#8217;s a big difference.&#8217; &#8221;</p><p>By then, the damage was done.</p><p>&#8226;&#8226;&#8226;</p><p>The Royals are gambling this spring that damage is not irreversible. Tsao, now 26, is in camp on a minor-league contract after signing Jan. 11 as a free agent.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s always had great stuff,&#8221; Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. &#8220;He was one of the better young pitchers in all of minor-league baseball when he broke in. He just hasn&#8217;t been able to stay healthy.&#8221;</p><p>It seems eons ago that Tsao once drew raves as a can&#8217;t-miss talent. <em>Baseball America</em> touted Tsao as Colorado&#8217;s best prospect entering the 2001, 2002 and 2004 seasons (he was No. 2 in 2003).</p><p>All of that came after the Rockies won a bidding war in October 1999 by ponying up a then-club record $2.2 million signing bonus to outbid the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Braves and even the Tokyo Giants.</p><p>Tsao was 18 at the time and had just wowed the scouting community by throwing a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts for Taiwan the previous month in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Seoul, South Korea.</p><p>Royals pitching coach Bob McClure was working in the Rockies&#8217; system when he had Tsao in 2001 at Class A Salem in the Carolina League. He, too, recalls the boundless optimism that surrounded the young right-hander.</p><p>&#8220;He could have started for the major-league team,&#8221; McClure said. &#8220;He could have gone right to the major leagues and been their fourth or fifth starter. He was that good.</p><p>&#8220;He had major-league command of three pitches, two for sure &#8212; his fastball and slider. His change was a good change, but he didn&#8217;t command it as well. He could have pitched in the major leagues.&#8221;</p><p>Even then, however, the warning signs were increasingly apparent.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;d go 90-91 mph, then we&#8217;d see 97,&#8221; McClure recalled. &#8220;And we&#8217;d say, &#8216;Why don&#8217;t you pitch like that?&#8217; At the time, he didn&#8217;t speak English, and he was hurting. We didn&#8217;t know it because he wouldn&#8217;t say anything.&#8221;</p><p>That was before McClure, the Rockies or anyone else in the States knew what Tsao had endured as a youngster.</p><p>&#8226;&#8226;&#8226;</p><p>It&#8217;s no surprise, in retrospect, that Tsao battled injuries throughout his minor-league career. He made just four starts for McClure in 2001 before undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery.</p><p>Tsao recovered in time to make 12 starts the following year while splitting time at Salem and Class A Tri-City. And he was dominant: A 1.71 ERA in 12 starts spanning 58 1/3 innings with 61 strikeouts.</p><p>That put him back in the fast lane.</p><p>Acceleration continued when Tsao went 11-4 with a 2.46 ERA in 18 starts for Class AA Tulsa in 2003. On July 25, he became the first Taiwanese pitcher to appear in a big-league game. He worked 6 1/3 innings in a 7-3 victory over the Brewers.