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 @PitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
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Tayron Guerrero’s Fastball – The Statcast velocity leaderboard has had an Aroldis Chapman filter for a while now, and by all rights it should shift to the Chapman-Jordan Hicks filter so we can easily sort through the demigods among us. The top man standing if that were the case? Guerrero and his swaggering heater. The Marlins reliever picked up seven whiffs on 22 fastballs over two innings and regularly hit 100 mph with the pitch Sunday. Here, San Diego’s Freddy Galvis didn’t even offer at this bending laser.
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Blake Treinen’s Sinker – Let me stop your imagination here: Not only could you not hit this filth, but you’d also probably end up on your backside in the attempt. The A’s closer continues to assist gravity with his fastball by dropping opposing batters and firing downward for incredible trajectories. Kansas City’s Sal Perez knelt like a knight of the roundtable in deference to the king after this 97 mph sinker.
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Jose Urena’s Two-Seamer – This fastball took a dive inside at 97 mph to avoid a flailing Jose Pirela’s bat and remove the Padres second baseman’s balance from the equation. Urena finished with five K’s over six innings and 86 pitches Sunday. The Marlins sure showed off some live arms to end the weekend.
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Jose Alvarado’s Two-Seamer – The fact that the big lefty can throw fire like this makes it incredibly frustrating that he hasn’t taken hold of the Tampa Bay closing job. Despite this outrageousness to Seattle’s Ryon Healy, Alvarado gave up a go-ahead two-run home run to Kyle Seager earlier in the eighth and was saddled with the loss.
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Fernando Romero’s Two-Seamer – The Twins rookie continues to entertain with his mix of fastballs, picking up 12 total whiffs in five innings against the Angels on Sunday. L.A. shortstop Zack Cozart was one such swing-and-miss victim, hacking right through this 95 mph offering.
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Nick Tropeano’s Changeup – The Angels starter put some filthy English on this offspeed pitch to Minnesota’s Max Kepler for a second-inning whiff.
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Ross Stripling’s Curveball – The 28-year-old’s curveball is quite a weapon, sporting a similar rainbow path to the hook of a certain injured teammate of his. Not to say that Stripling is anywhere close to Clayton Kershaw, but with injuries decimating the L.A. staff, pitching like this from the righty has been a welcome sight. Unless you’re Ozzie Albies, of course.
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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