The lefty Strasburg

A significant development occurred this week in MLB when Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman with granted residency in Andorra and declared an international free agent. Chapman, a 6'4" lefthanded pitcher, is considered the best arm to come out of Cuba in twenty years. Reported to be 21 (he looks more like 27), Chapman is essentially a two-pitch pitcher. He throws a 97-98 mph fastball and a tight slider that sits around 92. He's reached 100 mph several times during game action. Several scouts and baseball pundits have compared him to Steven Strasburg based on the sheer velocity of his fastball and his ability to completely overwhelm hitters. Watching Chapman pitch, you see an athletic young man with fairly smooth mechanics for someone so tall. I was reminded a bit of Dontrelle Willis, aside from the absence of the signature leg kick. Chapman has easy velocity and the tailing movement on his fastball is incredible. The ball literally breaks in to righthanders just as it crosses the plate. His slider has tight downward movement and is a second plus-pitch.
Not surprisingly, teams are now lining up to make offers to Chapman and his agent. The reported asking price is a contract worth a guaranteed $50 million, basically the same deal offered to Diasuke Matsuzaka. With this winter's free agent market light on frontline pitching, it's easy to imagine Chapman reaching his asking price.
So who's going to be involved? As one might expect, the usual big-market suspects are showing interest. The Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets and Angels have all confirmed their interest in Chapman. Some reports suggest Chapman prefers to play on the West Coast, leaving the Dodgers and Angels as frontrunners. Nevertheless, you can expect at least a dozen teams to make serious inquiries.
Scouts are quick to point out that, unlike Strasburg, Chapman is not MLB ready. Concerns about his fastball command lead many to believe that Chapman will need to spend some significant time in AA or AAA to hone his delivery and become accustomed to professional baseball.
Still, when you see him pitch, it's easy to picture Chapman striking out MLB hitters next summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbAYAeb7xc&feature=related