Chapman throws first live BP session

[OnBaseMachine]

Figured this probably deserves a thread of its own...

Chapman pitches, hitters guess

Aroldis Chapman faced five hitters for about 10 minutes worth of pitching in his session of live batting practice on Wednesday. By my count, he threw 32 pitches to Chris Burke, Chris Valaika, Chris Heisey, Yonder Alonso and Corky Miller.

Only one hitter -- Heisey -- made solid contact, once.

Batters were talking to each other trying to figure out what they were seeing. After seeing Chapman's changeup on his third overall pitch to Burke, people around the cage were heard going 'oooh.'

For all of the talk about Chapman's 100 mph velocity after his signing, it was his slider and changeup that had people in the cage talking, and guessing.

"That's a nice little repertoire. Somebody should sign this kid," Burke said after leaving the cage.

The session reminded me of the first time Johnny Cueto pitched live BP at camp. He showed good stuff right away and was an unknown entity. By the time spring was over, Cueto was in the rotation and skipped Triple-A altogether.

"Chapman was very good," general manager Walt Jocketty said. "With hitters in there, he was very comfortable and threw good pitches. He threw a lot of strikes. He threw a really good changeup. All in all, it was a good day.

"The slider was pretty nasty. Very nice. It will be fun to see how this progresses. There's a lot of competition for that rotation."

Wilkin Castillo, who speaks Spanish, was Chapman's catcher this time.

More later...

http://marksheldon.mlblogs.com/

[OnBaseMachine]

Chapman vs. hitters
Posted by jfay February 24th, 2010, 2:16 pm

Aroldis Chapman’s first session against hitters was impressive.

As Chris Burke, on the hitters who faced him, said: “This kid’s got a nice repertoire. Someone should sign him.”

In the10-minute session, Chris Heisey was only hitter to make solid contact. Yonder Alonso, Corky Miller, Chris Valaika and Burke also faced him.

“Chapman looked very good, very comfortable against hitters,” Walt Jocketty said. “He threw a lot of strikes. His slider was pretty nasty.”

The hitters were having a hard time telling what was what: Slider or change-up? Was that a cutter?

“I thought he looked great,” Burke said. “The fastball was down. It had tremendous life to it. The slider was tight. The change-up was good. He’s a little herky-jerky. I think it makes him more uncomfortable to hit against.

“I think he had to throwing in the mid-90s, especially when he got out of the windup. There was an extra gear there.”

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/

[sonny]

I have a devastating change up, Trouble is I have no fastball to compliment it.

I always take these things with a grain of salt seeing how AC is still an unknown commodity, but if he can develop those secondary pitches and pitch with relativity good control, we may have something special on our hands.

Good read.

[OnBaseMachine]

Video from C. Trent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8gfR2xsH2E

[nate]

Well, if he baffled Chris Burke, that settles it!

[klw]

Burke apparently had the take signal.

[OnBaseMachine]

Video from Fay:

Alonso vs Chapman

http://www.mobypicture.com/user/johnfayman/view/6062601

Burke and Heisey vs Chapman

http://www.twitvid.com/094B8

[Unassisted]

Video from Fay:

Alonso vs Chapman

http://www.mobypicture.com/user/johnfayman/view/6062601

Warning: attempting to watch this video may induce neck pain, unless your monitor can pivot.

[mth123]

Well, if he baffled Chris Burke, that settles it!

That may be the funniest post of the year.

[OnBaseMachine]

Mark Sheldon has updated his blog with quotes from Chapman and others:

Chapman pitches, hitters guess

Aroldis Chapman faced five hitters for about 10 minutes worth of pitching in his session of live batting practice on Wednesday. By my count, he threw 32 pitches to Chris Burke, Chris Valaika, Chris Heisey, Yonder Alonso and Corky Miller.

Only one hitter -- Heisey -- made solid contact and that was one time.

"I haven't thrown to a hitter in about eight months. I felt really good," Chapman said through interpreter Tony Fossas. "I threw the ball very efficiently. I thought I had control and command of my pitches."

Batters were talking to each other trying to figure out what they were seeing. After seeing Chapman's changeup on his third overall pitch to Burke, people around the cage were heard going 'oooh.'

For all of the talk about Chapman's 100 mph velocity after his signing, it was his slider and changeup that had people in the cage talking, and guessing.

"That's a nice little repertoire. Somebody should sign this kid," Burke said after leaving the cage.

"I never really had a slider or changeup," Chapman said. "The changeup is the pitch that wasn't efficient and didn't throw much. Since I got here, I've been working really hard on it and those are pitches I will be able to use."

The session reminded me of the first time Johnny Cueto pitched live BP at camp. He showed good stuff right away and was an unknown entity. By the time spring was over, Cueto was in the rotation and essentially skipped Triple-A. (He did have four starts at Louisville the previous year).

"Chapman was very good," general manager Walt Jocketty said. "With hitters in there, he was very comfortable and threw good pitches. He threw a lot of strikes. He threw a really good changeup. All in all, it was a good day.

"The slider was pretty nasty. Very nice. It will be fun to see how this progresses. There's a lot of competition for that rotation."

Wilkin Castillo, who speaks Spanish, was Chapman's catcher this time. He called all of the pitches and wasn't shaken off once.

"His slider was 85-88 mph and breaking a lot. It was pretty nice," Castillo said. "His fastball? Oh my God, it was 98-99 mph and strikes, down and in."

One other thing to keep in mind: Pitching coach Bryan Price had pitchers not use the "L" screen in front of the mound and not tell hitters what was coming. That's not often the case in the first live BP. So hitters were really had a disadvantage on their second day of camp against all pitchers.

Chapman will pitch again on Saturday.

Here is what others had to say about Chapman --

Burke:

"Obviously, it's dominating stuff. If he's going to keep the ball down like that and get ahead in counts, what can you really do? As a hitter, you have to be ready to hit the fastball. It's going to give him so much leeway with the slider and changeup."

"If he can command the ball down in the zone like he did today, sky's the limit for him potentially."

"It's a lot like Randy [Johnson] was. When Randy could really command his fastball, what could you really do? You just hoped you ran into one. His slider to me was comparable. It was sharp and came out of the same arm slot. If he can get it in like that, as a right-handed hitter, the best you can do is hope to hit a groundball hopefully through the left side."

"First impressions were great. I was surprised with how well he seemed to be in command of his stuff."

"I've been playing long enough to know a special guy. You don't need a radar gun to see when the ball is getting there. The ball was getting there. He's got a little herky-jerky to him, which is good from a pitching standpoint. It's makes us even more uncomfortable."

Alonso:

"I didn't feel that bad just because I know him. He's my boy. I told him this morning that 'if by any chance I have to face you, just don't hit me.' Whoever doesn't know him, God bless, because it's rough."

Pitching coach Bryan Price:

"It was terrific. He was in the zone with all three of his pitches. I thought he was sharper against hitters than he was in the bullpen."

"These guys have seen guys that throw hard. It's when you get a combination of a guy that's a hard thrower that can command a finesse pitch like a changeup and has a power breaking ball. That puts you at a big disadvantage when he's got three choices, even when he's behind in the count. Today, he could have pitched with any of those pitches behind in the count."

http://marksheldon.mlblogs.com/

[nate]

If Chapman turns into Randy Johnson, I'd say that's a good thing.

Unless he starts looking like him.

[membengal]

If he pitches like Randy Johnson, I am okay with him looking like Randy Johnson.

[camisadelgolf]

If he pitches like Randy Johnson, I'll stay south if I'm a bird this summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF85R1em7Zs

[Mario-Rijo]

I have a devastating change up, Trouble is I have no fastball to compliment it.

Chris Hammond?

[flyer85]

If he pitches like Randy Johnson, I am okay with him looking like Randy Johnson.

maybe he can be like Randy and have a hot dog named after him.