Lin attended Yingge Vocational High School in New Taipei and graduated in 2024. According to the Yingge head coach, Lin's primary position was catcher, but as his fastball reached 150 kilometers per hour (93.2 miles per hour), he became primarily a pitcher his senior year.[1] Lin played a game as the starting catcher in the 2023 Black Panther Banner high school tournament.[2]
In 2024, Lin threw out a 154 km/h (95.7 mph) fastball against South Korea at the U-18 Asian Baseball Championship.[7] He earned the final win when the Taiwanese team defeated Japan in the final. Lin pitched 8 innings in the tournament without giving up any runs, including 4.1 innings in the championship game.[1][8] He was named the MVP of the tournament.[9]
Lin was ranked No. 94 on Baseball America's top 100 international prospects list.[11] In January 2025, the publication announced the Seattle Mariners were planning to sign Lin.[12] In a February 2025 press conference, the official contract was valued at $550,000.[13]