Aroldis Chapman looked to be going through a serious regression last year, but he is proving this year that he can be nasty when he wants to be.
Chapman was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Texas Rangers on June 30. He has been lights out since the trade.
Chapman has made seven appearances with the Rangers. He has allowed just three hits, no walks, and struck out 12, giving Texas exactly what they wanted.
Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth in Sunday’s 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed a double to Chris Taylor, but he struck out the next two batters to strand the runner.
The southpaw struck out pinch hitter Yonny Hernandez on three straight pitches. The strikeout pitch was a nasty 103.2 mph two-seam fastball. Not only was the pitch thrown extremely hard, but it also had an incredible amount of run to it.
Aroldis Chapman, 103.4 mph Two Seamer. 😳 pic.twitter.com/JSg2oeHrxU
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 23, 2023
Fans were calling that pitch one of the craziest ones they’ve ever seen.
This Aroldis Chapman pitch is the single nastiest pitch I’ve ever seen in my life.
103.4mph and it takes off like a right handed slider.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) July 24, 2023
Aroldis Chapman was rocking a 5.75 ERA at this time last year for the Yankees and today he has a 1.98 and threw maybe the most disgusting pitch I’ve ever seen in my entire life pic.twitter.com/YA6GUsjA4M
— YankeeWrld (@YankeeWRLD) July 23, 2023
The Yankees must be sick watching this. Chapman was a total bust with them last year, posting a career-worst 4.46 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. They even had to leave him off their playoff roster last year. The 35-year-old is showing he still has plenty of juice left — so long as it’s not playing in the Bronx.
