After hitting 102.7 mph in debut, Aroldis Chapman throws 103.9 mph in second appearance

Aroldis Chapman made jaws drop in his MLB debut earlier this week by averaging 100.3 miles per hour on six fastballs and topping out at 102.7 mph, which tied for the highest velocity ever recorded during three seasons of MLB.com’s Pitch-F/X system. Or at least it was the highest. Chapman made his second appearance last night, picking up his first career victory with a scoreless inning against the Brewers, and topped out at 103.9 mph. Seriously. He also threw a pitch at 103.8 mph and averaged 102.1 mph on seven fastballs, Yes, averaged 102.1 mph. Chapman has thrown 13 fastballs so far at an average velocity of 101.3 miles per hour. To put that in some context, here are the highest average fastball velocities since 2007: 2010: Joel Zumaya - 99.3 mph 2009: Joel Zumaya - 99.3 mph 2008: Joel Zumaya - 97.5 mph 2007: Joel Zumaya - 97.5 mph In other words, no one throws this hard. Chapman’s career is exactly two innings long at this point, yet he’s already thrown the three fastest pitches in Pitch-F/X history and his average velocity makes the previous king of hard-throwers, Joel Zumaya, look like Jamie Moyer. Oh, and Chapman’s high-80s slider is nasty as hell too. He threw it four times last night and got three swinging strikes. I’m really not sure how someone would go about having success against a 101-mph fastball and wicked 87-mph slider. I guess the answer is “they wouldn’t.” As the Reds pull further and further ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central it looks more and more like Chapman could have some Francisco Rodriguez-in-2002 potential in the playoffs.