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. 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.
Matt Shoemaker’s Fastball – With so much heat being thrown around, Monday turned out to be a real scorcher. Let’s get things started with this Fastball from Shoemaker that left Carlos Beltran in the dust. (Thanks to @djmerino for the tip!)
Christian Friedrich’s Curveball – Friedrich has made a name for himself with the Padres by making bad teams look really bad. All three of his quality starts have come against sub-.500 teams, including Monday’s win over Atlanta. This nasty Curveball fooled Jeff Francoeur into a total whiff.
James Paxton’s Fastball – The Mariners had two pitchers throwing triple-digit heaters on Monday against Cleveland. Lefty Paxton racked up 10 strikeouts in the start, thanks in part to some well-placed stuff, like this 100 mph Fastball to Mike Napoli. (Thanks to Redditor kevread for the tip!)
Chris Archer’s Slider – Archer led all pitchers in the strikeouts category Monday, racking up 12 Ks total. Take a look at this 90 mph Slider that fools one of the league’s best batters in Paul Goldschmidt.
Edwin Diaz’s Fastball – The other triple-digit slinger of the night was the Mariners’ #2 pitching prospect Diaz making his MLB debut. He got off to a hot start, recording his first MLB strikeout with a 100 mph pitch to Tyler Naquin. (Thanks to Redditor Dick_Sherm25 for the tip!)
Trevor Bauer’s Curveball – While the Mariners were throwing heat all night, Bauer stuck to his nasty breaking balls. Watch this Curveball hug Robinson Cano all the way with some inside motion.
Tyler Chatwood’s Fastball – Chatwood was pitching away from Coors Field, so naturally he was dominant. After allowing one run in Monday’s win, his road ERA increased to a whopping 0.64. Watch him assert his dominance with this streaking Fastball that starts in the opposite batter’s box.
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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Christopher Chase Edmunds is a writer at Pitcher List. He is working on a Master’s in Journalism at the University of Alabama, where he studies Fantasy Sports Media. He grew up in Alabama, perfecting the knuckleball in the backyard. He can be found streaming Colorado Rockies games and avoiding any association with the Atlanta Braves.