AUTHOR: Reds03 TITLE: Chapman looking good DATE: 11:01:00 AM ----- BODY:

It has finally arrived, a baseball fans dream...... Spring Training. The Reds' pitchers and catchers reported on Thursday afternoon for their first workout. All eyes were on the 22 year old Cuban, Aroldis Chapman. Chapman threw off the mound on his first day, and Walt Jocketty (Reds' GM) liked what he saw. "Very impressive," Jocketty said after Chapman finished throwing and moved on to hitting. "I'd like to see him when a hitter gets in there. He showed good command. Everything was right around the strike zone. I watched him do his fielding drills over there, and that was pretty good." Another benefit for Chapman is his catcher, Ramon Hernandez. Chapman doesn't speak any English, but luckily for Chapman, Hernandez is fluent in Spanish. "One of the better things to have happened so far is to have a catcher that knows Spanish," Chapman said. Hernandez's thoughts on the Cuban.... "He threw hard. Today he was pretty good," Hernandez said. "They told me [before] he was maybe a little wild. I was surprised with what I saw. He's got a lot to learn. He's got good velocity, a changeup and a slider. He needs a little experience. The coaches will teach him well. I am going to say you will see him for a long time, if he stays healthy." When asked if Chapman can make the the rotation, Bryan Price responded saying "He can start anywhere," Price said. "But we want to assess him and make sure wherever he starts, it's the right place. It might be Cincinnati. It might be someplace else in our system. I don't know that yet. I think this kid could go into a ballgame tomorrow and be ready to compete. He's extremely athletic. He's a quick learner. His stuff is better now, in my opinion, than it was in the WBC -- at least from a command and delivery standpoint. I'm looking forward to seeing him pitch and learn." On his second day Chapman liked what he did. "Today was really good. It went fine," Chapman said. "I think the week is getting better as it goes." A big issue with Chapman is his command. "Everybody knows about his power and everybody knows that he has to work on his command," Miller said. "Today was a command day, where he was going to try to throw it over the plate. I don't know how hard he is throwing. It's hard to tell when a guy is around the zone." The Reds' are excited to see the young man in game action, they expect him to make several starts during Spring Training. Reds03

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