Peter Gammons on Aroldis Chapman

We interrupt this beautiful day in the world of blogging to bring you some Aroldis Chapman love, and this time it’s coming from Peter Gammons over at MLB.com.

The first pitch I ever saw Aroldis Chapman throw from behind home plate was one of the things you dream on. Here is this 22-year-old kid with the body of a young Randy Moss and the wingspan of a great blue heron, and out of his hand came a change-up for a strike. Perfect arm speed, dead fish.

“He has the best left-handed fastball I’ve ever seen,” says the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier.

This isn’t the first person who’s noted that Chapman might be beyond special. John Fay has stated several times in talking to scouts around MLB that he has as good of stuff as anyone in the National League.

As a friend pointed out to me, they heard the same thing about Jose Contreras and Hideki Irabu. And as I said back to him, those guys were both fat toads and were not 22 years old.

Chapman has a ways to go, but to think that he’s not going to be a shot in the arm to the Cincinnati Reds whenever he does get the opportunity would be selling him short to say the least.