Aroldis Chapman: Good Investment or Just Straight Gambling?

Aroldis Chapman and the Cincinnati Reds go hand-in-hand, now that he has signed a huge deal worth $30 million over 5 years. Everyone who follows baseball has heard the ordeal with Chapman by now, and it sounds like his decision to leave everything behind in Cuba to pursue a career in MLB was the right choice. Now how will he hold up to all the hype?

Will he be a starter? Reliever? Closer?  I’m sure the Reds are looking to use him as a starter and he has the stuff to do so. The Reds wouldn’t put out $30 million for a closer or a reliever since they need to get some consistent quality starters if the Reds want to actually start competing.  

The Reds took the right step towards that with the signing of Chapman. Chapman needs to be with the Reds as quickly as possible though, possibly this as a starter, reliever, or closer.

Since I am going to the University of Cincinnati I am surrounded by fans of UC football, the Bengals, and the Reds. College basketball is doing just as well with Xavier and UC having successful seasons so far. The city of Cincinnati is on a rise with sports, since the Bengals had a great season this year, the University of Cincinnati football team went to the BCS Sugar Bowl, and now the Reds sign a huge prospect.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Reds have a breakout year and the city of Cincinnati is proud of Reds baseball again. Reds fans are extremely excited to watch Chapman and I’m sure the Reds will want to get Chapman into the rotation because fans will be filling the stadium just to watch him pitch.  

The Reds seem very committed to win since they are not a wealthy team compared to the likes of the Yankees and Red Sox, yet they are shelling out big money for a potential rising-star.  Reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer,  “If you don’t take a chance now and then, you’re never going to get any better,’’ club GM Walt Jocketty said. “You have to step out and make some news.’’ I think the Reds are trying to keep up the trend in Cincinnati by having successful sports.

There is no reason to keep Chapman in the Reds Triple-A Louisville team for a long period of time. I don’t think it will be long until Chapman is starting for the Reds. He already has a natural ability to throw hard and with a little bit of coaching he will be ready in no time.

Being a tall southpaw and able to throw in the low 90’s to 102mph makes him a huge threat to hitters. He throws a decent slider and if the Reds pitching coaches can work on his changeup, he will be much harder to hit if he has a three pitch arsenal to throw at batters.

His only weakness is control and that can easily be fixed, but then again it could be to his advantage like it was for Randy Johnson. Johnson could throw just has hard, if not harder in this prime, and he was one of the most feared pitchers because of his size and fastball. Chapman may not be as tall, but his fastball is just as hard, especially coming from the left side.

An added plus for the Reds organization is that the pitching coach is fluent in Spanish which will help Chapman learn quicker rather than trying to pick up on the English language in a short time or going through a translator. Apparently Dusty Baker knows some Spanish too which will help Chapman transition into the Reds ball club and the U.S. since he doesn’t speak a lick of English.

Chapman didn’t even know where Cincinnati or any of the other ball clubs were located. The only time he saw a MLB ballpark was on Google maps. He will have to learn the language, culture, food, and the unpredictable Cincinnati weather.

He has only been pitching since he was either 15 or 16 years old which is very good because his arm should still be very healthy. A lot of pitchers have been pitching since they have been little and that is the reason lots of them have arm problems now. He is only 21 right now and going to be just turning 22 in the near future, which means he is still very young and has many more years left to pitch.

Time will only tell whether the Reds made a good investment or gambled their money away.