Brusdar Graterol’s Fastball and the Nastiest Pitches From 9/14

Every morning, we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and check back to see if it made it in our September Nastiest Pitch GIF Tournament. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @PitcherList, and we’ll GIF it up and give you a shoutout here in the article.

Brusdar Graterol’s Fastball

https://gfycat.com/falseaccomplishedbandicoot

Brusdar Graterol is an interesting pitcher who throws a captivating fastball. Yasiel Puig was left frozen by a pitch thrown in the triple digits with just enough movement to catch the outside black. Graterol doesn’t have much time in the majors so the pitch classifiers haven’t quite figured out his fastball, but it looks like a sinker. Whatever it is the pitch is nasty.

Mike Clevinger’s Slider

https://gfycat.com/closedfairclumber

Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber have taken over as the two ace-quality pitchers at the top of the Indians staff while expected leaders Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer are fighting cancer while in the bullpen and pitching for the Reds, respectively. Clevinger deserves Cy-Young award consideration as he’s elevated his game to a different level. Nelson Cruz can attest as he struck out three times against Clevinger yesterday including this slider with ridiculous depth and tilt.

Jack Flaherty’s Curveball

https://gfycat.com/legalweakadeliepenguin

Jack Flaherty keeps plugging along pitching great for a disappointing Cardinals team out of playoff contention. This curveball to Eric Thames is spotted perfectly on the outside corner to start the at-bat.

Mike Foltynewicz’s Two-Seam Fastball

https://gfycat.com/simpleelegantjaguarundi

Mike Foltynewicz will get a chance this October to improve on his playoff performance from last season. Folty seemed ready yesterday as he mixed his great two-seamer with a good curveball and slider. This two-seamer is spotted perfectly.

Eduardo Rodriguez’s Changeup

https://gfycat.com/acceptableembarrassedatlanticbluetang

Eduaardo Rodriguez has put together a great last few starts missing tons of bats and walking barely anyone. Rodriguez is up and down as well as injury-prone, but when on he can go on a run of elite form. Rodriguez struck out 12 Phillies in probably his best outing of the year for the wayward Red Sox.

Zack Greinke’s Curveball

https://gfycat.com/coordinateddelightfulbison

Zack Greinke anecdotally threw a ton of breaking pitches yesterday, especially his slow-motion curveball. Greinke threw slower ones for strikeouts, but this high-velocity version at 75 MPH was spotted perfectly against Ryan McBroom.

Sergio Romo’s Changeup

https://gfycat.com/generaltautbrownbear

Sergio Romo seems to me like he’s been pitching since the last millennium, but his heyday with the Giants isn’t as far away as I perceive. Romo is now helping another possible playoff team, the Twins, and still has the same emotion on the mound. This change piece to end the inning falls off the table and just keeps going and going out of the zone.

Hyun-Jin Ryu’s Cutter

https://gfycat.com/earnestgreenaustralianfurseal

Hyun-Jin Ryu isn’t often featured in nastiest pitches because he relies on deception and command more than pure stuff to mow down hitters, but everyone once in a while he spots a pitch so perfectly it’s too good to ignore. Wilson Ramos gives up on this cutter too early before the ball hits the outside black covertly. A beautiful pitch.

GIF of the Night

Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner may be featured in September’s Nastiest Pitch GIF Tournament.

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