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« Rosenthal Discusses George Sherrill | Main | Mets Sign Venezuelan Lefty Juan Urbina »
Aroldis Chapman Defects
Aroldis Chapman is a 21 year-old lefty who's touched 100 mph with his fastball. Interested? According to CubaenCuentro.com, Chapman defected from the Cuban national team while the club was stationed in the Netherlands (English version here). Chapman is currently in an undisclosed location, and he told the paper he plans to sign with a Major League club.
Chapman pitched in the WBC against Japan in March, and R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs provided analysis. A video clip of a different WBC appearance can be seen here.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus confirms the defection.
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tims back, yay! did your wife have the baby?
Posted by: 04Forever | July 02, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Welcome to the White Sox Aroldis Chapman
Posted by: ChiSoxKilla23 | July 02, 2009 at 12:24 AM
what is this kid in? 100 thats the fastest in a long time. lol he will proboly be signed with a high payying club like bosten, yankess, mets, ect. when do the other teams get a break?
Posted by: Wrigleyterror37 | July 02, 2009 at 12:24 AM
...is that post really coming from a Cubs fan? ^^^
Posted by: B3NG4L | July 02, 2009 at 12:27 AM
Yup White Sox. We are going to have a lot of lefties
Posted by: kcatlantis | July 02, 2009 at 12:43 AM
Aroldis Chapman is Cuban for Sidd Finch.
Posted by: vtadave | July 02, 2009 at 01:02 AM
Thanks for the video Tim.
His style reminds me of Dontrelle Willis. Definitely has a live fastball but looks like he needs to improve his offspeed stuff and get command of his arsenal....maybe add a 2-seamer and get some movement on that fastball. Definitely not ready for the big leagues based on what I saw in the video. But a 95+ mph fastball is going to intrigue many ball clubs.
Posted by: yanks09 | July 02, 2009 at 01:25 AM
wait, why would he even defect? Obama took the ban off about flying to Cuba this week. Shouldnt he be able to just fly over?
Anyways, a FB that fast will interest lots of teams. Is he a starter or reliever? anyone know
Posted by: lakersdodgersyankees4life | July 02, 2009 at 01:36 AM
When I seen this kid pitch during the WBC I knew I'd see him defect. He's just got such a nasty fastball that means big bucks in the MLB.
For Lakersdodgersguy, he started for his Cuban club in the WBC but the rules for the WBC are pretty odd when it comes to pitching innings. His first game he went 4 innings against Austraila [ND and stuck out 7] and his second game went 2.1 and got hit up for 3 runs against Japan.
The WBC eskews what this guy has for a tank...
Posted by: Cronus | July 02, 2009 at 02:13 AM
Is he MLB ready? No.
Would he get lit up? Yes.
Does he have good command? Doesn't look like it.
Then again, he throws hard and is a lefty. Someone will pay him.
I agree, he would need time to develop but he looks to have the arm to be something good.
Posted by: InvalidUserID | July 02, 2009 at 02:13 AM
If he could develop better command in some team's minor league system, then I could see him contributing in about 2-3 years, maybe sooner if he's developed as a reliever. 100 mph lefties are gonna interest many teams, hope to see him soon.
Posted by: Yanksallday | July 02, 2009 at 05:35 AM
Why not just rename the Chisxox the ChiCubanos then?
Imagine some other teams that can easily out spend the Chisox, like the NYY will have something to say, well before he signs anywhere.
Posted by: johns | July 02, 2009 at 06:02 AM
Don't hold your breath.. These things take a long time..Yadel Marti and Yasser Gomez were both highly touted when they defected in late 2008.. They are major league ready (in theory) but have not heard a thing on either since.
Posted by: novaoakland | July 02, 2009 at 06:54 AM
Watching that YouTube clip makes me wish one of the teams I played on back in the day had red pants and socks. I would have looked pretty slick.
Posted by: Mace27 | July 02, 2009 at 08:45 AM
Yep, White sox looks like the logical place. They have more than $30 Mil coming off the books next year and with several Cubans in the org I could see him signing for the comfort factor (assuming the $$ are there). Looks like he needs some work on mechanics...maybe develop a cutter to go along with the 4 seam and that nasty slider.
Posted by: mboss | July 02, 2009 at 08:49 AM
Video I have seen he reminds me of David Price a bit...just aesthetically with the height/left handed, plus/plus fastball and the slider looked pretty good in the clips I saw. No idea about his control though.
Posted by: Jared78 | July 02, 2009 at 09:00 AM
Eyes off gents. That's a future Yankee.
Posted by: bigjf | July 02, 2009 at 09:38 AM
Yeah he will be a Yankee in about 6 years after some other club develops him and gets a couple good years out of him and can't afford to resign him.. if he even ends up being good.. lets be honest with ourselves, the Yanks don't develop baseball players
Posted by: TheCrewOfBrew | July 02, 2009 at 09:46 AM
I fell for the Cuban team during the '06 W.C. They were unique in having two pitchers warming up when the game started, their second best power hitter hitting seventh and a catcher (Pestano) that's grittier and fierier than even A.J. Pierzynki. I was so looking forward to Chapman's starts in the W.C. this year but was dissapointed he wasn't throwing quite as fast as they quoted and his control was not ready for prime time. He may have been the single most reason that the Cuban's didn't win it this year. That said he has the tools and the off speed pitch has a bunch of movement. He escaped in the Netherlands and they have very strict abidance to universal country laws and I fear he will be caught before he can get out. He should have planned this for a different tournament...but either way...Every Cuban grows up a Yankees fan. So he's aware of the A.L. East coast teams. He'll sign with a team that has a Cuban player (i.e. White Sox) or with the Yankees or a rival of the Yankees.
Posted by: HeadFirstSlide | July 02, 2009 at 09:49 AM
Hahaha crewofbrew, still sour about Sabathia?
Posted by: Casanova Wong | July 02, 2009 at 09:50 AM
crewofbrew, here's a list of current Yankee players developed in their farm system:
Jeter
Posada
Cano
Rivera
Pettitte
Chamberlain
Wang
Hughes
Gardner
Cabrera
Cervelli
Coke
Quite a few, wouldn't you say? I might have even left out one or two. Sure, the Yanks have their failures in player development, but so does every other team. For them to compete with all those players isn't just luck.
But if Chapman really is 21 and wants to sign elsewhere for a few years until the Yanks pry him away, so be it.
Posted by: bigjf | July 02, 2009 at 10:01 AM
This kid has all the potential. Big league stuff, but not quit ready to dominate straight away I think.
@ Headfirstslide
It isnt hard at all to cross the border here. Since we have the European Union, you are free to travel in every country. He defected immediatly wednesday when they arrived at their hotel. He's in Spain now..
Usually the Cuban staff takes all the passports from the players, so they cant defect. If thats the case, he'll have a hard time getting out of Spain.
Im off the watch our Dutch boys play the Cubans tonight..
Posted by: TheDude | July 02, 2009 at 10:32 AM
enough with the facts, BigJF
Posted by: ArodMVP217 | July 02, 2009 at 10:36 AM
welcome to the new York yankees Daniel Cabrera...i mean Aroldis Chapman
Posted by: SwishCheese | July 02, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Wrigleyterror37: "ol he will proboly be signed with a high payying club like bosten, yankess, mets, ect. when do the other teams get a break?"
That's pretty funny coming from someone whose team's payroll is over 10% higher than the Red Sox.
Posted by: Little Bear | July 02, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Wow, Gardner, Cervelli and Coke...those are some All-star caliber names. You are correct, the Yankees have an incredible farm system if they can consistently bring up top tier talent like Phil Coke.
Hey maybe you Yankee fans can go back and still take credit for bringing up Micky Mantle within your system.
Yankees do not develop talent, they overspend for it.
The absolute worst place for this kid is in NY. If his agent is smart he will be wearing a Chi Sox uni and be around players who have had the same life experiences.
Posted by: CircusFresh | July 02, 2009 at 11:04 AM
I just read somewhere...a potential bonus for Chapman may start in the $30m range and work its way upwards of $60m...?
Wow.
Posted by: xlazox | July 02, 2009 at 11:27 AM
One OF The Most Awesome Names In the Game Today...... except for SEQUOYAH STONECIPHER HES A BEAST!!!!
Haha CircusFresh your hilarious!!
Posted by: padre23 | July 02, 2009 at 11:41 AM
I hope the Pirates have a chance with this guy, could put them over the top.
Posted by: Cyyoung | July 02, 2009 at 11:53 AM
CircusFresh.....3/5 of the Yankees rotation were developed withing (Wang, Joba, Pettitte).....Their entire bullpen outside of Bruney (who was claimed off of waivers) are products of the Yankee farm system (Hughes, Coke, Mo, Robertson, Aceves)....half their infield was developed by the Yankees (Jeter, Cano)....both their catchers came up in their system (Posada, Cervelli)....2 of their outfielders came from their system (Melky, Gardner) and Swisher and Hinske were acquired in trades.
The Yankees have more players from their farm system than 90% of teams in baseball.
If you want to hate on the Yankees feel free to. Just don't waste our time with petty false claims like these. If you want to talk out of your bum and get yourself enraged on a message board feel free to go over to ESPN.
Posted by: yanks09 | July 02, 2009 at 11:55 AM
I was in Cuba in April and was talking to a elemetary school teacher who was 25, he told me that Alroldis Chapman is 21 and legit but Dayan Viciedo was 25 like himself.. Far from a valid source but its something to think about as he seemed to be knowledgable about Cuban ballplayers as he said he was on the Cuba Junior Team when he was of age..
Posted by: Superman | July 02, 2009 at 12:46 PM
he is definately not mlb ready. that being said, he has to be the number one pitching prospect in the world.
1. he throws 100mph+. how many pitchers can throw that fast?
2. he has a 80mph duece. the name of the game to pitch is keeping hitters off balance. i dont care if you know its coming, if he starts you off with 100 mph fastball in on your hands and goes low and away with a curve, grab some bench.
3. hes only 21 years old. he can have 3-4yrs to develop and he would still be young enough to be considered the next best thing.
4. probably the most important fact, hes a lefty. he is as valuable as a 6-1ft statue of gold.
now for the team, if the mets arent agressive for this guy, they will be the dumbest team in mlb. it was dumb enough signing oliver perez and not going hard after lowe. now go after this kid and let him develop.
Posted by: clos79 | July 03, 2009 at 02:12 AM