Weekly Hit Ground Ball: One pitching phenom replaces another

The King is dead; long live the King.

It’s the nature of sport, in fact the nature of life itself, that the seemingly irreplaceable is always replaced.  They won’t be replaced in a like-for-like manner because anyone truly memorable attains that status due to possessing unique qualities.  But when a void is left by a player departing for one reason or another, someone always comes along and fills it.

Everyone who loves the game of baseball was left reeling by the news that the Washington Nationals’ pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss all of the 2011 season.  Having been mesmerized by his stunning opening salvos in the Big Leagues, and entranced by the hope and joy that they produced among Nationals fans desperate for any hope and joy to cling to, it was a heavy blow to have it all taken away from us so soon after it had begun. 

And you could multiply that feeling by ten when it comes to how it must have hit Strasburg himself.

Yet no sooner had we been left lamenting the, hopefully temporary, absence of a ‘once in a generation’ talent than we we were introduced to another. 

The reaction from the crowd in Cincinnati when Aroldis Chapman jogged onto the outfield to make his Major League debut against the Brewers last Tuesday was reminiscent of the atmosphere in Washington when Strasburg took the mound for the first time.  ‘Electric’ was the word being used as Chapman’s presence sent a sudden shockwave through the crowd at the Great American Ballpark, one of intense excitement and anticipation. 

The two pitchers have had very different upbringings and baseball educations.  Strasburg is the polished product of the American college system with a rare combination of outstanding stuff, excellent command of all his pitches and a well-developed sense of how to pitch.  Chapman grew up in Communist Cuba before defecting while in Rotterdam, Netherlands for the World Port Tournament last year.  He has a lightning fastball and a devastating slider, but he still needs to acquire some subtlety and craft to go with his immense raw talent.

That relative rawness alongside the Reds’ current playoff-chasing position encouraged them to promote Chapman in a relief role rather than as a starter, just as the Tampa Bay Rays did with David Price back in 2008.  Price joined the Rays’ Major League roster in the second half of September 2008 and mainly pitched out of the bullpen as Tampa Bay made it all the way to the World Series.  The Reds will use Chapman in a similar way, making him a lethal weapon as a reliever in the short term with the intention of converting him back to being a starter next season. 

The Cuban’s call-up as a reliever made his entrance all the more dramatic as his jog in from the left-centre outfield bullpen allowed the cheers to build and reach a crescendo when he made it to the mound.  After going through the standard warm-up routine, the left-hander tucked his right leg into his body and then uncoiled to deliver a 98 MPH fastball to Jonathan Lucroy.  “Just getting loose”, was the response from the Reds’ TV commentary box and so it proved as Chapman had the crowd gasping as he soon lit up the speed gun at 102 MPH.

Flashing three figures is a sure way of getting a reaction from a crowd, but Chapman’s most impressive pitch is his filthy slider that he showed off when completing the strikeout of Lucroy.  It’s speed (87 MPH) and sharp break down and in to a right-handed hitter brings back memories of Randy Johnson.  The Big Unit hung up his spikes following the 2009 season and many batters must have breathed a sigh of relief that they would no longer have to worry about ‘Mr Snappy’ heading towards their ankles.

The King is dead; long live the King.

Whether looking at Johnson or Chapman, their two main pitches should not be considered in isolation.  If a hitter is looking for the slider, he’s got no chance against a 104 MPH fastball: the highest speed from Chapman so far recorded on MLB.com’s Gameday service.  If the hitter is waiting on a fastball, the ‘feet-seeking missile’ of a slider will eat him up every time.  Each pitch is less effective without the other and blazing heat alone is not enough at the Major League level.  After striking out Lucroy on the slider, Chapman retired the next two batters with ground-outs coming on fastballs which Craig Counsell (103 MPH) and Carlos Gomez (99 MPH) were able to put in play.

Chapman is not the finished product yet, but he will provide a spark to the Cincinnati Reds down the stretch and into the postseason where they now look like real contenders with a very balanced roster.  The Cuban could well prove to be the Reds’ wild card over the next two months, both with his on the field performances and the lift he gives to the home crowd whenever he steps onto the mound.  As a Reds TV commentator put it: “there hasn’t been this kind of electricity for any player that’s come up and made his Major League debut for the Reds in a long, long, LONG, long time”.

Nationals fans would be forgiven for feeling a tinge of sadness at seeing Cincinnati’s young pitcher grabbing all the attention; however Chapman’s appearances over the next couple of months will hardly make people forget about Strasburg.  In his case, the King is not dead, he’s just resting and Chapman being successful will only help to keep Strasburg at the forefront on fans’ minds.

We all want to see a fully healthy Stephen Strasburg matching up with Aroldis Chapman in 2012.