His name is Aroldis - LucianoJJ's Blog

LucianoJJ's Blog

His name is Aroldis

Posted on August 31, 2010 at 10:43 PM.

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I've seen the future of baseball, and it's name is Aroldis Chapman. A Cuban defector. An international competitor. From free agent signee to Triple-A prodigy. In Aroldis Chapman's one inning of work, his major league debut in Cincinnati, seven of his eight pitches were strikes. Three of his pitches reached or went over 100 mph on the Great American Ballpark speed gun. The result of the 1-2-3 inning against the Brewers was a strikeout, a groundout to second, and a groundout to short.

The Reds have rarely featured quality pitching. Homer Bailey was promoted to the majors and debuted with the Reds with a degree of hype, and promise yet to be fulfilled. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo have provided some decent work on the mound, but cannot be considered dominant. To find someone of Chapman's quality one would have to look back, past Edinson Volquez's fine season a couple of years ago, past the Nasty Boys bullpen of the 1990 World Champions, past Danny Jackson's great 1988 campaign, past Mario Soto's dominance in the early 1980's, to the Hall of Famer Tom Seaver's stay in Cinci in the late 1970's, or Don Gullett's brilliant but injury-riddled peak in the early to mid 1970's.

For the first time in months, the Triple Crown hype surrounding Joey Votto was silenced, by a lanky lefty Alfonso Soriano lookalike who hit triple digits on the radar gun. Granted, this is all based on one inning, mopping up, in a blowout, against a Brewers club with a losing record. The hope among long-suffering Reds fans is Aroldis Chapman is the missing link. The bullpen needs a boost. The fans and the league have begun to look beyond the brawl and the sweep by the Cardinals. The playoffs are now in sight. To advance, Chapman could play a role.