Every morning we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the Second Half. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @ThePitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
Congrats to Yu Darvish’s Slider for winning Nastiest Pitching GIF of the Week! Darvish has once again dazzled with his Slider and Matt Wieters was his latest victim that made our jaws drop.
Corey Kluber’s Fastball – There were plenty of pitches we could have selected during Kluber’s dominating start against the Yankees, but this backdoor 94 mph heater with movement was easily our favorite. It just barely gets enough movement to nip the outside corner, making it the perfect pitcher’s pitch.
Sean Manaea’s Slider – Manaea had the daunting task of silencing the Cubs’ bats and did well allowing just 2 ER in six innings of work. His Slider was a big factor in this game and take a look as it dove into Javier Baez’s ankles in the second for a big strikeout.
Kenley Jansen’s Cutter – Jansen’s Cutter doesn’t get enough love and it may be tough to realize how filthy this pitch is with this camera angle. The 94 mph heater looks to be headed to the middle of the plate before darting off the outside corner, but it’s too late to stop Hanley Ramirez’s swing. Gorgeous.
Sonny Gray’s Curveball – Gray hasn’t been his classic self this season, though he managed to hold the Cubs to just 2 ER over the weekend. He only collected a pair of punchouts, though this one against Dexter Fowler should make up for that. (Thanks to @AlexFast8 for the tip!)
Jeurys Familia’s Fastball – We feature Familia’s Sinker often, but we haven’t found a good reason not to when it’s getting this much movement at 95+ mph. Watch it bend its way back over the plate for a backwards K against Andrew Romine.
Dylan Bundy’s Curveball – Bundy has been straight fire in his last few games as a starter with a plus plus Changeup, Fastball command and a perfected hook. The latter stunned Tyler Saladino to end the second with this heavy Curveball, leading announcer Gary Thorne to utter “Ugh, mercy.”
Danny Duffy’s Slider – If we’re talking about young pitchers expressing their upside, Duffy needs to be in the conversation, especially as he cruised through the Blue Jays lineup on Friday. He got off to a great start, fanning Josh Donaldson in the first on a slide piece that made the former MVP lose his bat.
Aaron Sanchez’s Curveball – Now that Sanchez is expected to stick in the Blue Jays rotation, we can be excited for the lively Fastballs and 12-6 hooks through the rest of the year. Here’s a quick reminder of what that entails as Sanchez made Kendrys Morales whiff during the fourth. (Thanks to @34bigcheese for the tip!)
GIF Of The Weekend
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Second Half contest.
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