Every Monday we review the nastiest pitches from the previous weekends’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.
Congrats to Blake Treinen’s Fastball for winning Nastiest Pitching GIF of the Week! 99 MPH with movement is just unfair.
Adam Ottavino’s Slider – Ottavino came straight off the DL into his 8th inning role, and he did not disappoint. This Slider to Javier Baez is ridiculous in its crazy sweeping action. The pitch starts on the inside corner and before Baez can stop his swing the ball is in the opposite batter’s box.
Domingo German’s Slider – The Yankees have a plethora of prospects and German is next up for the Bombers. This Slider to Jonathan Schoop reminds me of Luis Severino. The Slider is thrown hard with great late bite and may have more drop than Luis’s Slider right now.(Thanks to @dropthegavel99 for the tip!)
Matt Wisler’s Slider – Wisler pitched just OK on Saturday giving up 4 runs over 6 innings, but his Slider was a great put-away pitch. This one to Lucas Duda looks just like a Fastball before dropping to the ground and Duda can’t hold up his swing.
Steven Matz’s At-Bat – Matz is back, and the Mets will take all the help they can get on the mound these days. This At-Bat to Brandon Phillips shows why fantasy owners have stashed Matz on the DL and waited for his return. A good Changeup with deceiving arm action, a well spotted Fastball, and then a put away Curveball with a mesmerizing flight pattern. Also, don’t forget to check out Nick’s GIF Breakdown of this start – it’s a great detailed analysis of Matz’s first start of 2017 with plenty more GIFs.
Sean Newcomb’s Curveball – Newcomb was effective in his debut using mostly his Fastball to keep hitters at bay. His finishing move was the Curveball, and this one to Juan Lagares is beautiful to watch as it buckles Lagares’ knees.
Carlos Martinez’s Slider – Martinez was super impressive Friday throwing a complete game shutout with 11 Ks, and hitting 99 MPH in the 9th inning. Most of his Ks were on his Slider, which looks like his Fastball before breaking far away from righties. This pitch to Howie Kendrick just falls away from his bat to avoid the foul tip.
Ken Giles‘ Fastball – Giles is now probably the second best reliever in Houston with the rise of Chris Devenski, but manager AJ Hinch has used Devenski as a multiple inning fireman while keeping Giles in his traditional closer role. Giles still throws as hard as ever, and this pitch thrown 99 MPH right at the knees, or maybe below, is too close to take for Martin Maldonado.
Mike Fiers‘ Curveball – Fiers was close to losing his rotation spot a couple of weeks ago, but injuries helped him keep his role and he’s ran with it. Fiers allowed only 2 hits on Saturday with 8 Ks using mostly his Fastball and his signature Curveball. This Curveball to C.J. Cron shows both side to side and traditional top to bottom Curveball action to get Cron to swing at a pitch that ends up out of the zone.
GIF Of The Weekend
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Week Contest.
[polldaddy poll=9766815]
I want to vote, but I can’t… :|
I vote for ottavino