And he didn’t even need Brandon Phillips’ car to do it.
That’s right, Aroldis Chapman topped out at 105 mph in a relief appearance with Triple-A Louisville on Friday night. Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse had it first, though it was repeated by Buster Olney of ESPN.com and Peter Gammons of MLB Network and NESN this morning.
According to Price, Chapman “sat at” 103 mph on his fastball and also threw a slider in the 90-91 mph range. One scout told Price that it was “the best fastball I have ever witnessed.” With consistent heat like that, it’s no surprise to learn that he struck out the side in last night’s appearance.
Chapman has thrived since moving to a relief role, posting a 2.40 ERA and 49/12 K/BB ratio over 30 innings. As a reliever, he has held opposing batters to a .156 batting average and allowed just one home run.
He’s expected to be promoted to the major leagues as soon as rosters expand on September 1, so we should see his major league debut in just a few short days. I’m thinking a few of us might be interested in checking that one out.
