Starters usually get the nod for Cy Young Award considerations. This year R.A. Dickey has been a worthy candidiate. Pergect-game hurler Matt Cain has placed himself atop of the San Francisco Giants' pitching rotation and Cole Hamels has performed and will get paid like an ace, but is Aroldis Chapman the best pitcher in the majors right now?
Here are some of his stats.
:4-4 record in 53 appearances, 14 walks with 106 strikeouts with a 1.26 ERA. He threw 29 innings before allowing his first run in 2012. He has pitched 57 innings, only given up 8 runs on 25 hits. His WHIP is a miniscule .684.
Want a whopping number not matched by any other pitcher right now.
16.7.
That number indicates Aroldis Chapman's K/9 ration, that is the amount of strikeouts he averages per every nine innings he tosses.
Not conviced yet, according to John Starks of ESPN, Chapman is having a better season than some aces around the major leagues.
In a longwinded sentence, Starks explains how dominant Chapman has been in comparison to starters around the league:
-Bet you didn;t know that Chapman has more strikeouts than the Opening Day starters for 11 teams... or that he has struck out more hitters than two pitchers who made the All-Star team (Matt Harrison, Wade Miley), as well as (Ryan) Vogelson... or that he would lead four teams in strikeouts (A's, Royals, Blue Jays, Rockies).
Starks goes on about Chapman's stats. You can check them out in the link above.
Making this season even more special is the fact that Chapman is guiding the Cincinnati Reds' bullpen and the team straight into the playoffs.
The Reds are 69-46 for the second best record in the majors. They have a five-game lead in the National League Central over the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates.
At the beginning of the season, the Reds had Sean Marshall, who they acquired from the Chicago Cubs, as their closer. He struggled and when talks were originally about turning Chapman into a starter, he stepped in for Marshall and became the Reds official closer.
Chapman is sixth in the majors with 28 saves, tied with New York Yankee Soriano.
The Cuabn defector is shutting mouths as he is proving he is worth the extension he received the first year the Reds went after him when he became a free agent.
For now, the talks of spending too much money on the pitcher have ceased. The focus will now turn on Chapman's run for the 2012 NL Cy Young Award.