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 Second 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 First Half! A Fastball thrown hard and with this amount of movement is amazing to watch. Treinen also got traded yesterday so it was an eventful weekend in real life and here at Pitcher List.
Chris Sale’s Slider – The Sale trade this offseason with the White Sox is looking like a steal right now no matter what Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech turn out to be. The Red Sox got their ace of now and the future at a cheap cost going forward. Here Gary Sanchez thinks he’s getting a Fastball in his happy zone before the ball ends up close to his back-foot. Nasty. (Thanks to Redditor TheBrimic for the tip!)
Kenley Jansen’s Fastball – Jansen got the 4 out save last night using his hard Fastball moving left or right at will. This pitch to AJ Ellis is noteworthy for how quickly Ellis realizes he made a big mistake swinging at a pitch that nearly hits him. (Thanks to
Aaron Nola’s Curveball – Those throwback Phillies uniforms are beautiful and Aaron Nola’s performance matched how good his threads looked. Here Hernan Perez flinches twice, first when he thinks Aaron Nola’s called strike is going to hit his head, and second when the catcher almost hits him throwing to third. Funny.
Corey Kluber’s Fastball – Kluber is on a historic run with another 12 K start on Saturday night. This Two-seamer to Matt Joyce is death to lefties as the ball moves from off the plate to almost the outside third right at the end of the ball’s path.
Akeel Morris‘ Changeup – Morris’ Changeup seems like a pitch that could make him a premium bullpen option sooner rather than later. The bottom drops out of this pitch to Chris Owings for the swinging K. We also get a good look at his grip on the slow motion replay. (Thanks to
Dellin Betances‘ Fastball – Dellin has been inconsistent with his control over the last month as fans saw during his less than stellar performance in the All-Star Game. Dellin seemed back to his old self in his first appearance after the break hitting the black at 99 MPH to K Jackie Bradley Jr. looking.
Aaron Sanchez’s Curveball – Sancehz hasn’t broken out in 2017 as many fantasy owners, yours included, hoped for, but he can still break off a sick Curveball occasionally. This Curveball to Victor Martinez isn’t spotted particularly as it looks like the target is over the outside corner, but the movement is so sharp that Victor Martinez is left frozen. (Thanks to Redditor sigbox for the tip!)
Mike Fiers‘ Curveball – I dropped Fiers during the All-Star break after the return of Charlie Morton, but it looks like I moved too soon dropping the inconsistent Fiers who struck out 11 Twins this weekend. Here Chris “Soft G” Gimenez gets a piece of a sick parabola like Curveball, but the catcher holds on for the swinging K.
GIF Of The Weekend
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Week Contest.
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Did I miss the winner of the first half tournament?