I'm glad to have Aroldis Chapman on my team but I do wonder how long his body can stand the rigors of throwing 100+ MPH. I don't think it's coincidental that Rob Dibble had a much shorter career than John Franco
That, and it limits the amount of time they can be stuck in the minor leagues. It's why players like those deals and teams are reluctant to give them. In practice, it's very rare for anyone outside the top few college players to get a major-league deal. Lower draftees don't have the leverage, and it makes no sense to give one to a prep player, because he'll be out of options when he's 22, 23 years old.
Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice
Yeah, but Chapman's delivery looks so smooth and effortless. It doesn't seem like he's putting a lot of effort when he's throwing. Dibble, on the other hand, was kind of herky jerky and it seemed like his delivery was maximum effort.I'm glad to have Aroldis Chapman on my team but I do wonder how long his body can stand the rigors of throwing 100+ MPH. I don't think it's coincidental that Rob Dibble had a much shorter career than John Franco
The one thing I keep coming back to is that pitching coaches have said that the one thing they cannot teach is velocity. They can teach off speed pitches and breaking balls, but no one can teach a 95 mph fastball. That takes talent.
And if you go to MLB.com or ESPN and go to their sortable pitching stats, check out the top 25 pitchers in the stats of ERA, WHIP, and K/9. Those three stats will give you a feel for the top pitchers in the game this season (I know there are other stats that folks swear by, but the bottom line is that these three stats usually pick out the pitchers most gurus agree are top pitching talent in baseball). What you will find is that of the top 25 pitchers in baseball today, 20 of them will have fastball that will consistently hit 92-93 mph or higher (considered to be a little better than average if you take an 89-90 mph fastball as average).
“I think I throw the ball as hard as anyone. The ball just doesn't get there as fast.” — Eddie Bane
“We know we're better than this ... but we can't prove it.” — Tony Gwynn
Not sure how many innings Stephenson has put oon his arm over the summer, but if it has been quite a few, I might work himm in relief for the rest of the AZL season, then let him participate in the Fall Instructional League.
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