Zell's Pinstripe Blog

The defected 21-year-old pitcher from Cuba, Aroldis Chapman, threw a bullpen session this morning for about 50 Major League scouts. This is the guy who reportedly reached 102MPH on a radar gun during the WBC this past March. He threw for about 15 minutes today during a closed workout at Baseball USA. No media was allowed, and was an “invitation only” event. He showed the scouts a fastball, changeup, and slider. He was not throwing with his ultimate velocity, but still impressed the scouts. The big question is whether Chapman is ready to pitch in the Majors this upcoming season. I wonder what the Yankees representatives thought of his bullpen…

What some of the guys had to say about him:

One National League scout was asked what impressed him the most about Chapman. “His fastball,” he replied. “He’s got it. He was bringing it.”

“He’s a hard thrower from the left side,” said David Lakey, national cross checker for the New York Mets. “I think they said [he hit 96 mph on the radar gun]. That kind of arm is hard to find from the left side.”

“The kid’s got a great arm,” Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade said of the 6-foot-4 Chapman. “He’s a physical specimen. He’s left-handed. He throws hard. Obviously, anybody would be interested in an arm like this. He’s got some great stuff. The early feedback from our guys, and everybody else, is he’s a tremendous talent.”

“I think it’s fair to say most teams think he’s ready talent-wise,” Hendricks said. “The question is, can he walk right in in 2010 or does he need a little time to become more refined?”

“He didn’t throw all out, which we told the teams he would not do,” Hendricks said. “I think it was important that he demonstrated that he’s ready, he’s in shape, that he can throw free and easy, which is what he did. A lot of life on his pitches. He threw real well. I think it was sufficient to let everybody know he’s ready for prime time. He looked comfortable as could be. He looked fluid. All the teams I talked to were really impressed. Just free and easy is what I heard.

“He wasn’t throwing as hard as he can, but he threw well,” said Eddie Bane, director of scouting for the Los Angeles Angels. “It was a good bullpen. … It’s great that the Hendricks brothers put this together, because we needed to see him. Almost everybody in baseball was here.”