I've been there for a lot of really hyped prospects. The Strasburg hype was insane, Harper and Bryant fall into this category, Yasiel Puig, Dominguez I suppose. Some are worth it, some aren't. But I remember clearly just how excited people were for Aroldis Chapman, as he was circling Louisville and showing his 100mph speeds. Like, this was a guy that was gonna shock the whole league. It got to the point when it was revealed that the Reds were gonna keep Chapman in the bullpen, I, as a 15-year-old, was dumbfounded. This guy throws 100 miles an hour and you wanna limit that to an inning per game? And of course I had to learn...yes, you wanna sustain that ability and not burn him out, and I get why they figured he was better off as a closer.
Until that nasty burnout period in 2022, Aroldis Chapman was one of the best relief pitchers in baseball. He worked in the ninth, and could save 30 or 35 games per year. He was good in non-save situations and could still throw heat in those. He was the closer for the Cubs team that won it all in 2016. He was one of the forces in New York that convinced people there'd be life after Rivera. And his consistency from 2012 until 2021 seems all the more rare in an era of relief pitching that's way more variable. Nobody can be the closer for a team for 10 straight years anymore, there's always some setback. Chapman was that guy.
And then he pissed off the Yankees, the Royals took a flyer on him and then he won another ring with the Rangers [without being too terrific], he spent 2024 as a decent enough setup guy for Pittsburgh, and then...Boston decided that if they really thought the Yankees were the problem in the 2022 fallout, they needed to benefit. So they signed him, and now Chapman's arguably having the best year of his career.
As a relief piece for the still-gaining Boston Red Sox, and the primary closing option at that, Chapman currently has a 0.98 ERA, 29 saves, 81 strikeouts and a 3.4 WAR. More amusingly, he hasn't allowed a hit since mid-July against the Phillies. All of August has gone by without a hit. He's still hitless into September. The other day he had 4 strikeouts in an inning. Hell, his last seven appearances have resulted in saves. Chapman had good periods as a Yankee, but they'd always be punctuated by an awful outing or a blow. This is...unprecedented. None of us were sure if Chapman had this left. It's possible he's doing this purely out of spite against the Yankees, and between him, Clay Holmes, Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, there seems to be a lot of that to go around this year.
Chapman has been a bright spot of a Sox team that's been struggling to keep ahead of the curve without Roman Anthony. They're still in the wild card race, and have a leg up on the A's, but have to play the Yankees next, and finish up with Toronto and Detroit. It's not gonna be easy, and while it is nice that occasionally a call-up can have a nice start, like Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, you're still...starting rookies in the midst of a playoff race. Dustin May, Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins and Tanner Houck are all hurt, and the only options are these rookies and Kyle Harrison. It's very good that Crochet, Giolito and Bello have been excellent otherwise, but trotting out a 22-year-old and seeing the A's kill him is not a very promising thing if you're looking for a playoff spot.
The Sox are still eyeing that playoff spot, and with Jarren Duran, Alex Bregman and Ceddanne Rafaela all hot, it seems like they'll get it. I mean, with Chapman pitching the way he's pitching I don't know what could come between them.
Coming Tomorrow- Man, nothing like 7 years of playing for a good team to really take the wind out of you.
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