One of the more interesting early-season story lines in MLB has been the resurgence of Aroldis Chapman.
The Yankees let him go after a lousy 2022 season in which he posted the worst ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career, but Chapman caught on with the Royals and has been working as a setup man to closer Scott Barlow. Chapman has rebounded nicely, thanks in large part to rediscovering the velocity that made him a star earlier in his career.
On Tuesday night in San Diego, he really lit up the radar gun, delivering a fastball to Jake Cronenworth that was clocked at 103.8 mph. That’s tied for the fastest pitch thus far this season and stands alone as the fastest pitch for a strike of 2023. (Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks threw a pitch at 103.8 mph that missed inside.)
This is the fastest pitch thrown for a strike so far this season by any MLB pitcher! https://t.co/Dv1eT3deKg
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 17, 2023
Chapman’s velocity is way, way up this season. His sinker is averaging 101.5 mph, faster than any single pitch over the course of his career, and his four-seam fastball is averaging 99.6 mph, his fastest since he averaged a cool 100.0 mph with the pitch in 2017. After topping out at 101.9 mph last season, Chapman has now thrown four pitches at at least 103 mph this season. The 103.8 mph heater he threw to Cronenworth was his fastest since July ’18.
Chapman signed a bargain one-year deal with Kansas City this winter worth $3.75 million. If he keeps pitching like this, he’ll be a hot commodity at the trade deadline. He’s also playing his way toward a bigger payday next winter.
