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 Second Half Contest, which will be live this All-Star week. 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.
Lance McCullers’ Changeup – It was far from a smooth start for McCullers, but man is this Changeup ridiculous. The pitch starts in the middle of the plate before taking off inside to Trey Mancini. To see that this pitch warranted a swing despite where it ended up is mind blowing. (Thanks to @tylercstafford for the tip!)
Roberto Osuna’s Cutter – Now we have a batter looking foolish on a pitch from Osuna as Marcus Semien jumped out of the way of this Cutter that bent back over the heart of the plate for a called strike three. It’s one thing to earn a backwards K and fool a batter. It’s another to make him jump on the pitch. And it’s another to make him jump back on a pitch that finishes in the middle of the zone.
Rich Hill’s Curveballs – You have a tough choice here. Do you prefer the classic loopy Curveball that moves more than it should or do you enjoy the unreal bend Hill gets on the pitch when he lowers his arm angle? Both are nasty in their own ways and we couldn’t deny either a spot today.
Marcus Stroman’s Slider – It was an early exit for Stroman on Thursday but he was able to make some great pitches being being ushered off the field. This slide piece has been all kinds of nasty in his recent starts, with his latest victim being Khris Davis, who missed this pitch by two feet.
Mike Foltynewicz’s Fastball – Folty has moved from a one pitch thrower to a three pitch pitcher this year, but his Fastball is still his bread and butter. This 98 MPH sidewinder to Paul Goldschmidt is extremely impressive.
Zack Greinke’s Changeup – There’s a little bit of everything in today’s roundup and it starts with Greinke showcasing a Changeup with unreal fade to Johan Camargo. The Brave infielder doesn’t come close to making contact with this pitch as it darted well off the outside corner.
Chris Sale’s Fastball – Sale keeps mowing down hitters, and it’s now a surprise if Sale doesn’t strike out double digits every time out. I think Kyle Seager was probably looking for a Slider here because you won’t see a more feeble looking swing all year. I hope Seager was just trying to foul that off.
Luis Severino’s Changeup and Slider – There are only 3 pitchers in the majors this year with more Fangraphs WAR than Luis Severino. Severino has come along way since spring training when many around baseball wondered whether his stuff would profile better in the bullpen. Well his stuff is still good enough for the bullpen, but he’s refined his Changeup and command to turn himself into a top of the line starter. In this GIF Severino shows off his two non Fastball pitches, a great fading Changeup To Tucker Barnhart and a sick Slider at 90 MPH that breaks onto the hands of Billy Hamilton. (Thanks to Redditors BobaFett313 and akaSpac3 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 Second Half Contest.
[polldaddy poll=9798838]