Cuban Pitcher Aroldis Chapman Defects

July 2 is already an exciting day for prospect wonks, as it's the first day that teenage Latin American free agents are allowed to sign with major league teams. While waiting on official announcements for superprospects like Wagner Mateo and Miguel Angel Sano, some unexpected news broke today.

ESPN's Jorge Arangure relays a report from a Cuban website that 21-year-old Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman walked out of the Cuban national team's hotel room in Rotterdam, the Netherlands today and plans to defect to America to pitch in the major leagues in the near future. What happens next is all speculation at this point, but Arangure says Chapman is the best Cuban prospect since Jose Contreras and could command more than $30 million on the open market.

Chapman did pitch in this year's WBC, making two short starts, losing one and putting up a 5.68 ERA with eight strikeouts and four walks in 6 1/3 innings. Despite that disappointing outing, it's hard not to like a young lefty with a fastball that can top 100 mph. Baseball America's John Manuel relayed this quote from a scout in his story today about Chapman:

"There were rumors heading into Mexico that he wouldn't be there because they were afraid he would defect, but he was there and was lights out. ... You've got honestly just one or two tweaks that could be made but he could go straight to the top of a big-league rotation. He's got a great body, definitely has high pockets, absolutely. He's on top of the hitter, his release has extension, he's got the ball coming out of there at 100 mph. He's absolutely electric."

As always, questions about his age will remain, but Arangure points out via Twitter that by pitching in the WBC, his age has been more closely scrutinized.

Chapman can't hit the market until he establishes residency in another country (most Cubans do this in the Dominican Republic). The whole process takes a few months, but I suppose it's possible he hits the free agent market sometime over the winter. When that happens, expect the hype over to him to quickly explode to Strasburgian proportions.