The final four of the Best Curveballs of the Minor Leagues is on! Who will you vote for?
Here are the rules:
- All GIFs were pulled from pitchers who have yet to appear in a major league game.
- You can only vote on a matchup once, so make sure you pick the one you absolutely want.
- Voting will continue until 12:00 a.m. EST the following morning.
Here are the brackets for Round 1:
American Bracket
1. Matt Manning vs 4. Enoli Paredes
National Bracket
3. Deivi Garcia vs 2. Bo Takahashi
Without further ado…let’s rock the vote!
Matt Manning is easily my favorite minor league pitcher in the Tigers minor league system. The 6’6″ righty has a big loopy spike curveball that pairs well with his fastball and budding changeup. He spent his year with Double-A Erie and the walks, which had been an issue in previous years, came down. I’ve been watching a bunch of MiLB video during the second offseason and Paredes is one of my favorite finds. Paredes is extremely athletic and how he makes that delivery work for him blows my mind. He has an electric arm that helps him get to the upper nineties with his fastball and a hard curve that just drops off the table. He still has some work to do with his command but we should see him in Houston soon.
https://gfycat.com/heartyaromaticaldabratortoise
vs
https://gfycat.com/AstonishingLegalAmericanmarten
[polldaddy poll=10558679]
Deivi Garcia vs Bo Takahashi
Deivi Garcia had an impressive 2019 campaign that saw him go from High-A all the way to Triple-A mostly on the back of his wipeout curveball. He still has trouble commanding it along with his other offerings and I’m banking on him being a pretty lights-out reliever in the end. Not just because of his lack of control, but at 5’9″ it is a little uncertain if his body can hold up, especially with his high velocity. This was supposed to be a GIF of Braxton Garrett but I pulled video from the wrong pitcher. (Thank you reader Luke for pointing this out!) Takahasi was signed by the Diamondbacks in 2013 from Brazil. He has slowly climbed up the ranks and has spent most of the last season and a half in Double-A. He profiles to be a mid-inning reliever or organizational depth but man…that breaker is pretty.
https://gfycat.com/AcidicLividKawala
https://gfycat.com/SpiritedPreciousHeterodontosaurus
[polldaddy poll=10558680]