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 check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @PitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
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James Paxton’s Fastball – It’s important to note that this 98 mile per hour running fastball was Paxton’s 101st pitch of the game. And while it may not be the hardest thing in the world to strike out Jake Marisnick, doing it with cheese like that – especially that late in the game – is truly nasty.
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Wade Davis‘ Curveball – Check out how late this pitches drops. It looks like a meatball until at the last second it dives right for the bottom of the strike zone for a strike. Nasty.
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Fernando Rodney’s Changeup – While there is nothing reliable or consistent about The Fernando Rodney Experience, he has always managed to provide baseball fans with one thing: A nasty, sharp changeup that dives away from hitters. When he’s locating it well, like he did here to Yoan Moncada, it’s unhittable. Great pitch.
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Corey Kluber’s Fastball – Kluber struck out seven across seven strong innings on Tuesday, another typical outing for the Klu-Bot. Here he manages to use that wicked two-seam movement to back Ji-Man Choi off the plate for strike two.
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Carlos Martinez’s Slider – Martinez only lasted four innings on Tuesday, striking out five but also walking five. While his control wasn’t great, his slider still had it’s typical nasty movement on it. Check out this cyclone that completely stifles fellow pitcher Jose Urena.
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Dallas Keuchel’s Changeup – So it was not a pretty outing for Keuchel, as the Mariners lit him up for seven earned. However, he was able to bounce back from an early deficit and fan Ryon Healy with this filthy changeup down and away in the sixth inning.
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Andrew Heaney’s Curveball – Heaney was the man of the hour yesterday, tossing an increasingly rare CGSO, only allowing one hit and one walk. While he only struck out four he still managed to toss some filth in there, including this big sweeping breaking ball to fan Alex Gordon.
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Steven Wright’s Knuckleball – No one can handle this filthy knuckleball from Wright, as the pitch scampers away to the backstop. When this pitch is on, it’s truly unhittable. The problem, as with most knuckleballs, is you never know what you’re going to get.
GIF Of The Night
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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Gotta go with Rodney’s changeup. With that explosive delivery and great arm speed, that location? Brutal.