MLB: Some Aroldis Chapman Would Hit the Spot Right About Now

If you haven’t noticed, the young lefty phenom out of Cuba, Aroldis Chapman, finally made his debut for the Cincinnati Reds last night. He had his fireball popping as well, reaching up to 102.7 mph on the gun and averaging slightly over 100 mph, according to Brooks Baseball.

He came in and made quick work of the Brewers, retiring all three batters he faced and racking up his first strikeout. I don’t like that they are using him as a reliever, but hopefully the Reds will come to their senses by next season.

Anyways, part of me can’t help but think about what might have happened if the Yankees had landed him. I’m not sure he would be getting the call-up to the majors at this point as he probably would have been called up earlier in the season when the Yankees were desperate for bullpen help. That possibly means that the Yankees might not have traded for Kerry Wood, so maybe this whole thing is a wash.

Still, it was fun to watch him pitch last night. Here is some video of his appearance (H/T to Sliding Into Home):

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