Aroldis Chapman: Cincinnati Reds' Future Ace or Shutdown Closer?

The Cincinnati Reds shocked the baseball world in 2010 when they jumped past the New York Yankees and several other large-market teams to sign Cuban pitching sensation Aroldis Chapman.

Since his signing, Chapman has had his share of ups and downs on the mound, but considering his recent dominance and the simple fact that he throws harder than anyone to ever play the game, there is almost no question that his future in the MLB is a bright one.

The general game plan in Cincinnati has always been for Chapman to develop his arm as a late-inning relief pitcher before either moving into a slot in the starting rotation or becoming the Reds' closer of the future. Management has been patient, taking their time to decide where he fits most naturally, but Chapman is pitching as well as he ever has in the majors and it looks like the deadline on a decision regarding his future is creeping closer and closer.

Here's the situation:

This season, despite being a disappointing one for Cincinnati, has marked the emergence of two potentially dominant starters in Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake. Throwing Chapman into the mix to create a three-headed monster of a rotation (that could be rounded out with Homer Bailey, Travis Wood or some other young talent) seems like a no-brainer on some level.

But it's also important to consider the fact that the Reds, and closer Francisco Cordero in particular, have struggled mightily at closing out close ball games this season. When Chapman has his best stuff he is a strikeout machine and looks to be nearly unhittable. If he could get dialed in for the majority of his appearances he could easily be an All-Star caliber closer should the Reds choose to use him that way.

Chapman has the potential to be one of the most intimidating and dominant arms in the game and there is absolutely no question that Cincinnati needs to take better advantage of that. It should be interesting to see how the Reds go about using their secret weapon come 2012.

My money is on Chapman becoming the Reds' No. 2 starter. A Cueto-Chapman one-two punch wouldn't just be scary, it may be enough to put the Reds in position to gain back their NL Central crown.