Easily. Plus plus fastball, plus slider, can be taught a workable 3rd pitch (changeup).

BA addressed their concerns about his secondary stuff and control problems. Could be an ace, could wind up as a power lefty in the pen.

on our list. I’d have him in the 15-20 range.

Matusz has good, but not great, stuff. Feliz is a reliever, pass.

and I like waiting a year after they play pro ball to make any conclusions, so he sits around 30 for me, and yes, I realize I’m one of his most pessimistic supporters.

Most likely an A-.

Reds are up after the Astros and Rays.

To me, he’s a top 100 guy, but outside of the top 50. Too many issues (adjustment to the US, control, Dusty Baker) to really be elite at this point.

Then there’s the Cuban factor. Cuban players haven’t exactly been brilliant successes since defecting, with few (Kendry Morales, the Hernandez’s) exceptions.

Over the last 30 years, 197 baseball players have defected from Cuba (see cubanball.com for my source). To date, 1 has made an All-Star game. If you assume that Kendry Morales makes one someday, and I’m fine with that, then that makes 2 out of 197. If you really believe in Alexi Ramirez (and I certainly don’t), then you’ll get 3 out of 197, or 1.52%. Not exactly a great success rate. While it’s nice to think that you might get another Luis Tiant or Tony Perez, odds are very low.

That All-Star, by the way? Rolando Arrojo, who was the Rays representative in 1998, during his rookie year. He was their best player that year, and he had 1 more year in his career where his ERA was better than league average.

Aroldis has great stuff, but does anyone else remember Erick Threets, who sat in the mid to upper 90s and touched 102 MPH? Where’s he now?

Is it that his stuff that much better so that he has top-10 pitcher upside?
Is it that he has shown some semblance of control in the past?
Can he command his secondary stuff decently?

Just curious, I only saw him pitch in the WBC and haven’t read too much about him…

now think he’s the 2nd best pitching prospect in baseball behind Strasburg. I’ll even go on to say this, if you we knew more about Chapman and you put Stasburg and Chapman’s skills right next to each other, and their reportedly pretty close, you pick the lefty over the righty any day of the weak. Now, I’m going with the more proven Strasburg but if all skills being equal, you take the south-paw with the 100mph stuff.

1) The triple digit stuff seems to be a little over the top so far. He may have had it in the WBC and he may regain it in the next season, but after his first big workout there were reports that he couldn’t top 92. After his most recent workout with all the big wigs he topped out at 97. Either he really lost a lot of conditioning or he is one of those pitchers who can toe the mound and you never know which pitcher is going to show up. Or maybe the triple digits were just a farce. Either way, that’s not a good thing going for Chapman.

2) I really worry about his control. According to Baseball America, in 328 IP, he has issued 203 BBs. (5.57 BB/9) That makes his K/BB 1.80. That’s not like Stephen Strasburg, that’s like Henry Rodriguez.

With these concerns, I cannot compare him to Strasburg, I cannot put him in the single digits and I have a hard time giving him an A-. At this point, I would personally be between a B+ and a B with him. I would say he’s a tools guy who needs to show me he can produce before he’s an A.