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 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.
Jake Peavy’s Fastball – Unfortunately the main camera was moving during this pitch, but the movement Peavy gets by sliding own his arm slot was absurdly good on this 1-0 Fastball to Troy Tulowitzki.
Rick Porcello’s Fastball – Porcello has been a major surprise in 2016 as he carried over his successful 2015 second half into the new year. He’s getting great movement with his Fastball, evidenced by this luscious front-door Fastball to Brian McCann. (Thanks to @brorzor and Redditor ajwhite98 for the tip!)
Drew VerHagen’s Curveball – You may not remember his name, but you will remember this heavy hook VerHagen threw to get Bryce Harper to whiff on a 3-2 pitch. Notice at how far it falls from Harper’s shoulders to the dirt. (Thanks to @jfmclooney for the tip!)
Max Scherzer’s Fastball – Most of you know that Scherzer tied the MLB record for most strikeouts in a game with 20 last night against the Tigers and it would be a sin to leave him off today’s roundup. There were many excellent pitches to choose from, but this Fastball that started in the middle of the plate before riding into Ian Kinsler takes the cake. We often see batters striking out as balls hit them on breaking pitches, but a Fastball? Yeesh.
Aaron Sanchez’s Fastball – It’s no secret that Sanchez gets a ton of movement on his Fastball, the bigger question is if he can command it properly. Spotting 96 MPH right on the black to freeze opposing pitcher Jake Peavy is just what we’re looking for.
Jake Arrieta’s Slider – We feature a bunch of Arrieta in these roundups and I’ve yet to hear a good reason not to when he’s throwing absurd Sliders like this one to Ben Revere. This pitch starts in the middle of the plate before diving near Revere’s ankles at 91 MPH. Unreal.
Jeurys Familia’s Fastball – One of the more electric Fastballs in the game belongs to Familia, who gets a ton of sink and ride on his heater. He ended Wednesday night’s game with this 96 MPH pitch that travelled unbelievably far to sneak under Yasiel Puig’s bat.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball – Another day, another gorgeous Kershaw hook. His latest victim is Kevin Plawecki who gives us a good squat after failing to pull the trigger. It may not have actually been a strike, but it did get the call and it’s just too beautiful to leave off today’s list.
Noah Syndergaard’s Fastball – Thor did it all on Wednesday, knocking in all four of the Mets’ runs on a pair of dingers while allowing just two ER across eight innings. It was typical Syndergaard heat through the game, and he closed the sixth frame with 100 MPH on the black to Joc Pederson. (Thanks to Redditors bmd4567 and banana455 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 First Half contest.
[polldaddy poll=9417751]