Aroldis Chapman

Two highly anticipated rookies made their debuts this week for their respective clubs in spring training. First was the Cuban phenom fire-thrower Aroldis Chapman, who pitched in relief for the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. Chapman, who pitched in relief of starter Bronson Arroyo, showed that he should be worth every penny the Reds shelled out this offseason to sign him. Arroyo, who started the game, stayed on to watch the Cuban rookie pitch instead of heading home. Arroyo left the game impressed.

In the Cactus League game versus the KC Royals, Chapman pitched two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one, while striking out three. Of the 26 pitches he threw, 15 were for strikes. A contingent of national media was on hand in Goodyear, Arizona, along with tons of scouts sitting behind home plate. One scout’s radar gun topped Chapman’s fastball at 100 mph, though the Reds’ radar gun read 99 mph.

Through the first few weeks of spring, Chapman has demonstrated remarkable control, especially with his slider and changeup. Chapman’s fastball has been the focal point, but his changeup has been the biggest surprise of Reds camp. Despite his inexperience, he is competing for the fifth spot in the Reds’ rotation and seems to be making breaking camp as a Major Leaguer a reality. Class-A Dayton pitching coach Tony Fossas, who serves as his mentor and interpreter, believes that Chapman will continue to get better in spring training as he gets more comfortable.

“It’s a matter of if he finds the plate, but he was close to the plate today, even when he was missing,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “And when he missed, most times it was down. It’s a very good sign that he’s getting more and more into the rhythm of things.”

Chapman pitched again today against the LA Dodgers. Chapman again followed Arroyo (and Francisco Cordero) in relief. He pitched two shutout innings, giving up just two hits while striking out two. He started out by getting Jason Repko to pop up in foul territory, but then he allowed back-to-back singles to Ivan Dejesus and Rafael Furcal. Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez picked pinch-runner Argenis Reyes off of first base and Chapman rebounded to get Brad Ausmus to line out to first. He struck out Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp and third baseman Casey Blake to end his second inning of work. Before that, Andre Ethier popped up in foul territory for the first out.

Stephen Strasburg

On Tuesday, the 2009 number one draft pick, Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals, started against the Detroit Tigers. In the top of the first inning, Strasburg threw just seven pitches, getting three ground outs in shutting the Tigers down in order. In the second inning, he faced the meat of the Tigers order. He struck out MVP-candidate Miguel Cabrera but gave up back-to-back hits to Don Kelly and Alex Avila. With men-on-base, Strasburg was quick to the plate with solid mechanics. What impressed everyone was the 3-2 curveball he threw for called strike three to end the second inning. This pitch impressed the visiting Tigers.

Strasburg has an upper 90s (he can hit 100 mph) fastball, along with a low 90s sinker. He showed off a very good curveball in the game. Catcher Wil Nieves (who caught Strasburg’s first start) has been impressed with Strasburg and would rather catch him than have to face him as a hitter.

In an interview with MLB.com after his first start, Strasburg stated “I had a lot of adrenaline going. I really wasn’t able to execute pitches the way I wanted to. … I’ll keep going with I’ve been working on and I will be a lot more relaxed. … I got my feet wet. I know what it feels like to go out there. I know what it’s like to face guys I watched on TV growing up. I have that feeling now, so I just want to build on it.”

Strasburg is tentatively scheduled to pitch Sunday, but rain has cancelled games throughout the Grapefruit League in the last few days (all were cancelled today), including the Nationals last two games.