Every week we review the nastiest pitches from the previous week 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 First 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.
Jake Odorizzi’s Split-Changeup – Normally pitches that hit the dirt so early don’t qualify for this list, but the amount of sharp break on this Split-Changeup from Odorizzi is crazy good. Even when you watch the GIF repeatedly and know it’s coming, the movement is still striking – especially in the slow-motion replay.
Danny Barnes’ Changeup – Barnes struck out two batters in his first MLB inning of work to earn a hold Tuesday against the Astros. One of his two victims was Carlos Correa, who fell to this disgusting Changeup with plenty of fade. (Thanks to @pand75, @1LoganAdams1 and Redditor CrustyM for the tips!)
Craig Kimbrel’s Fastball – When we talk about “climbing the ladder” this Kimbrel heater is a textbook example. The camera angle on this pitch is perfect to see the sharp angle the ball gets as it crosses the plate, looking like a true rising fastball that Kyle Seager simply couldn’t resist.
Danny Duffy’s Changeup – We don’t normally feature two pitches from the same player on the same day, but it’s hard to say no when a starter is dealing as much as Duffy. We just couldn’t resist making a GIF for this Changeup that dipped low and away on Steven Souza Jr./strong>.
Vincent Velasquez’s Changeup – During our stream of yesterday’s game, I mentioned you would be seeing this pitch again and here we are. The fade VV gets on this 90 mph Changeup is absurdly good, seemingly repulsed by Brandon Crawford’s bat and outside of the zone.
Yu Darvish’s Slider – Darvish pitched into the seventh inning Tuesday for the first time since returning from Tommy John surgery. His 26:2 strikeout to walk rate is healthy as always, as he demonstrated by striking out Matt Wieters with this wiffle-ball Slider. (Thanks to Redditor cjn13 for the tip!)
Marcus Stroman’s Changeup – Stroman sat down a season-high 13 batters Monday against the Astros. Even slugger Carlos Correa couldn’t avoid the K on this filthy Changeup that backed up onto the corner. And yes, this is in fact a strike.
Marco Estrada’s Changeup – It’s as textbook as they come as Estrada got Jonathan Schoop out on his front foot and whiffing through this perfect Circle Changeup. This pitch has been the secret to Estrada’s success thus far in 2016. (Thanks to Redditor Flerpinator for the tip!)
GIF Of The Week
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Half contest.
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