Boxscore

Aroldis Chapman and the Louisville Bats came to Indianapolis tonight to face the Indians. There were definitely more Cincinnati Reds fans in attendance than when I last visited on Monday.

Chapman was effectively wild. His raw talent was amazing, routinely hitting the high 90s on the scoreboard pitch speed. His change-up was in the low 80s. That’s a nice speed differential. However, he allowed 3 hits and walked 5 over 5 1/3 innings. That only amounted to 1 run, and the win, thanks to a strong Louisville Bats offense, but I hope he has the time to improve in the minors. I’d hate for him to be called up early and destroyed by the maelstrom that is the Reds.

Wilkin Castillo and Juan Francisco led the Bats offensive charge, both clubbing home runs and driving in 2. Thanks to the Bats’ bullpen, that lead held up, and Chapman received his first professional win.

Aroldis Chapman was the primary reason we made the trip. Below are a few pictures of him in action.

Missed the professional debut of Aroldis Chapman yesterday? C. Trent at CNATI has video of the event.

Won’t it be nice to see those 101 fastballs flying by Albert Pujols bat for the Reds?

Noted baseball columnist Peter Gammons, now working for the MLB network, put his feet firmly on the Chapman bandwagon.

Chapman will learn to recover from not having his best stuff, or having a stiff back, or getting hit around. It’s all part of the process, and if he learns as [advisor Tony] Fossas believes he will, then Chapman could be a major contributor to the Reds in the second half of the season. Which will be no small matter.

Gammons touches on how difficult it has to be to be Aroldis Chapman. He’s fled from his home communist country for one with an entirely different culture. He doesn’t speak the language that the majority of the people do, and the pressure placed on him to perform is unbelievable. (Although I think the pressure he faced when pitching for the Cuban team may have been about the same.)

Chapman is facing all this change and stress, and he’s only 22.

Gammons then moves on to how the Cincinnati Reds are a popular pick for a surprise, sleeper team.

If there is a sleeper team in Arizona, it is Cincinnati. Opposing managers, scouts and players alike think that the Reds can make a run in the National League Central.

“There’s a very good feeling here,” says Scott Rolen, whose health is an important factor. “There’s a lot of talent here, the atmosphere is good, there’s a blend of youth and experience and there’s a very positive vibe. We can be pretty good.”

I remember when the Milwaukee Brewers received that honor for a few years in a row. I’m optimistic that Cincy will have more staying power. With the tremendous depth in starting pitching, beyond just Chapman, the future really is starting to look bright.

Aroldis Chapman is the Cuban defector that the Cincinnati Reds signed and no one else did.

Much has been written about him, as would be expected when you have a left-handed starter who routinely touches 100. The list of left-handers with that kind of speed pretty much starts and ends with Randy Johnson. There’s lots of buzz, but the Reds seem to be handling his promotion to the majors with due consideration.

Here are a couple videos from game 7 against the Dodgers. The first clip is a wide view, showing Chapman executing his fairly smooth delivery and delivering all the way to the plate.

One thing that I found most impressive about Chapman was how long his stride is. At 6 feet, 5 inches, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that he’d have a long step from the rubber. But to see his foot reach all the way to the edge of the stepping spot was pretty awesome. Not as awesome as him mowing down Dodgers hitters, but close.

As much as I would love him to develop in the minors and became awesome for the Reds, I’m also terrified he’ll get injured before ever making it to the show. I’d hate to be the Reds brain trust for this decision.