As you bask in the aura of the Reds’ newly minted .500 record, add a little Aroldis to your morning, courtesy of Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs. Sullivan wrote in March that Chapman’s fastball was baseball’s new most-dominant pitch. This new article is about the Cuban Missile’s change-up.
Formally cross another item off the “Chapman can’t start” excuse list, the one about him only being able to throw a fastball. It was always ridiculous on its face to say that because he only used one or two pitches as a closer that he couldn’t throw more. Bryan Price has said for years that Chapman’s best second pitch was this change-up, if anyone had listened. The pitch is now a terrifying reality for major league hitters, made tolerable for them only from the relief offered by not having to face that combination for an entire game. How an organization cannot give a guy like this a serious look as a starter is beyond me.