Every morning we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’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 Contest. 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.
Keynan Middleton’s Fastball – Middleton has great stuff, and if he was more of a pitcher rather than a thrower he’d be a future closer. What makes this pitch special is the little bit of horizontal ride he gets right at the end. Even that tiny movement at 100 MPH is death to hitters like Aaron Judge. (Thanks to @sam_berns97 and Redditor AlmostLucy for the tip!)
Matt Moore’s Curveball – This GIF gives a great shot of Matt Moore’s grip on his unique Knuckle-Curve. The ball seems to hop from Moore’s hand right underneath the bat of Julio Teheran. It feels mean to pick on a pitcher hitting, but it looks like Teheran has his eyes closed by the end of his feeble swing.
Brandon McCarthy’s Curveball – If McCarthy could ever stay healthy he’d be in line for an All-Star game appearance, but alas, injuries have robbed him of a more storied career. Michael Conforto is not one to strike out a ton, but when this pitch goes from letters to shoelaces it’s hard to hold up or make contact.
Chris Sale’s Slider – We’re used to using Sale’s patented back foot Slider here in the Roundup, but it’s always nice to have a change of pace. This front-door Slider to Alex Gordon has great bite and Gordon walks away in disbelief that the pitch hit the inside corner. Also, it’s noteworthy that Sale misses his spot on the outside corner pretty badly. The advantage of having otherworldly stuff is missing your spot and still getting hitters out.
Alex Cobb’s Changeup – The slomo on this pitch shows just how late Cobb’s Changeup drops away from a hitter’s bat. Devon Mesoraco thinks he has a Fastball in his happy zone, and before he can hold up his swing the ball is diving out the zone for the swinging K. This GIF also has a great shot of Cobb’s grip on his Changeup.
Dan Altavilla’s Fastball – Altavilla blew a 2 run lead last night capped off by a JD Martinez opposite field HR, but he also had 3 Ks including this pitch on the outer third at 99 MPH that Nick Castellanos couldn’t pull the trigger on. (Thanks to Redditor Gunkwei for the tip!)
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Half Contest.
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That’s Nick Castellanos in the Altavilla gif