New York Yankees: How can Aroldis Chapman become elite again?

Find confidence in the fastball again

Chapman’s heater hasn’t lost much velocity, just effectiveness.

When the closer pitched in the National League, his go-to pitch seemed unbeatable. American League hitters froze against it in the 2015 All-Star Game, a year before he joined the Bronx Bombers.

Since then, opposing batters have caught on. Players are making more contact against it, hence leading to an uptick in hits allowed. While hitters still boast a minuscule average against his fastball throughout his career, they hit .191 against it – second-highest in his career.

Chapman’s fastball kept people honest at the dish in the past, which allowed him to utilize his off-speed stuff more efficectively. And even though he had a wipeout slider, he used his heater to rack up his numerous strikeouts.

That wasn’t the case in 2017, as he struggled using fireballs as his payoff pitch.

Strikeout % for Fastballs

• 2011: 26.8 percent
• 2012: 40.2 percent
• 2013: 39.4 percent
• 2014: 51.1 percent
• 2015: 43.4 percent
• 2016: 38.4 percent
• 2017: 28.0 percent

Chapman still revs up the heat. His fastball averaged 100 mph last season, which isn’t his lowest ever. But hitters expect it, and it’s evident they can time it.

The closer can still use it effectively; he just needs to have pinpoint accuracy. As a power pitcher, he’s vulnerable to mistakes. Teams don’t want to make big mistakes at the end of the game. As many Yankees fans saw last season, Chapman’s blunders became frustrating.

Once he restores his consistency and confidence with his fastball, Chapman can become the elite pitcher he was before 2016.