Aroldis Chapman getting more comfortable with his split-finger fastball, a pitch one scout calls ‘nasty’

TAMPA — When Aroldis Chapman unleashed it for the first time this spring, Aaron Boone just chuckled and felt sorry for the hitter and the catcher. In the stands, two scouts looked at each other and checked that they saw it right.

The closer’s use of the splitter has been the talk of the Yankees bullpen this spring. For a reliever corps that has already taken a pretty big hit, losing set-up man Zack Britton for a few months, that is a good sign. The back of the bullpen, Chapman, Chad Green, Justin Wilson and Darren O’Day, look sharp and they have some unexpected arms that have been impressive in Nick Nelson and lefty Lucas Luetge.

And Chapman has looked game-ready from his first Grapefruit League appearance.

“He looks really good to me,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Probably even better than in most years. I feel like usually at this time of year, we’re talking about his lack of velocity.

“I feel like he’s in a really good place with his delivery. He’s throwing a lot of strikes with all three pitches, including the split finger, so I really like where Chappy’s at right now.”

It’s a new weapon for the veteran, who may be preparing for when his blazing fastball drops another notch or two in velocity. It’s a pitch he’s tried in the past, but now Chapman feels more comfortable with it and ready to use it in the season.

“It’s just nasty,” one American League scout said. “I saw that and just looked around and laughed. That is a dirty pitch.

“And it’s one that will help him against right-handed hitters, you know like Jose Altuve.”

The pitch will give him a down-and-away breaking pitch to use against right-handed hitters instead of trying to get them out with the slider (see Altuve, American League Championship Series 2019).

Those moments, the home run to Altuve in the 2019 ALCS and the three-run homer to Mike Brosseau in the 2020 ALDS, may not simmer in Chapman’s mind, but they do motivate him.

“For me, you have to take that experience from it and use it as motivation,” Chapman said through Yankees interpreter Marlon Abreu. “Especially when things don’t work out the way you want. For me, you go through the experience, you learn from it and you use that as fuel.”

But the split-finger fastball is something Chapman has been working with for a while. In fact, he used it last postseason including in that at-bat with Brosseau.

“Adding this pitch, I think it’s, it’s just going to make my other pitches better,” Chapman said of a fastball that has ranged from 97 to 100 mph this spring and his slider. “I think it’s going to be a more impactful pitch.”

The 33-year-old native of Cuba is coming off a season where he could see he needed some improvements. He got a late start in the second spring training after testing positive for COVID-19. So, he had just three saves and 3.09 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched.

So, a motivated and improved Chapman would be reassuring for the Yankees, who are looking to use the bullpen as more of a weapon this year. In 2020, Yankees bullpen finished in the middle of the pack of the American League with a 4.51 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.

While Chapman was out last summer, Britton was the closer and was a savior to the bullpen, which was reshaped a little this winter. Under financial pressure from hundreds of millions of dollars in losses without fans in the abbreviated 2020 season, GM Brian Cashman dumped right-hander Adam Ottavino — whom Boone had lost faith in by the playoffs — and his $9 million salary on the Red Sox. He added lefty Justin Wilson and side-arm veteran Darren O’Day, giving the Yankees some very different looks. Chapman’s fastball ranges up to 101 mph and O’Day’s can touch 80.

“We certainly know what those guys, what they’re capable of and, obviously, the tremendous track record,” Boone said. “Those are back-end, high leverage guys and I feel like all of them are in a pretty, pretty good spot right now. Feel good about their work, the stuff, how they’re responding and everything so I’m certainly excited about that group and so far so good and spring as far as their ramp up to get ready.”