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 check back Saturday to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half Contest. Week 20’s winner was Blake Treinen’s Slider Treinen is on top again. His seemingly physics defying Slider is a wonder to watch week after week for the surpising A’s.
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.
This week is bookended by some punishingly hard Fastballs with impressive lateral movement and includes a Curveball that seems to drop from the sky. Check back next Saturday to see which GIF our readers picked as the nastiest pitch of the week.
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Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball – Someday in the not-so-distant future, Jordan Hicks will be posting sub-2.00 ERA, 11+ K/9 seasons in the Cardinals bullpen. He’s still ironing out some kinks these days, but this fastball is proof that this kid has something real special.
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Dallas Keuchel’s Changeup – Dallas Keuchel threw six innings in this game, giving up three earned runs with five strikeouts and one walk. It’s a pretty standard start for the guy. This Changeup to Josh Phegley, however, is anything but standard as he has him reaching for the 0-2 pitch. Don’t reach.
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Aaron Nola’s Fastball – Nola vs. Scherzer is always a good time, and makes for a particularly happy Nola Day when he strikes out eight with just one earned run. Any one of Nola’s pitches could be featured here, but I’m a particular sucker for two-seamers, and this one was just filthy.
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Steve Cishek’s Sinker – As if his funky delivery is not enough, Cishek sets down Austin Jackson on this absolutely brutal sinker in a perfectly unhittable location. Cishek got the blown save and the win in this one. Fun times!
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Joe Biagini’s Curveball – Odubel Herrera and his tipsy helmet tend to steal the show on a whiff, but Biagini’s hook glued it in place here. The little nod of respect the Phillies outfielder gave this rainbow after it fell from the skies only confirmed its nastiness.
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Mike Foltynewicz’s Two-Seamer – Folty had an ideal matchup against a weak Marlins lineup, and he delivered with eight K’s and one earned run over six innings. His two-seamer featured some nasty bite, as it left Rafael Ortega flipping his bat for all the wrong reasons after this fifth-inning whiff.
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Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner may be featured in the GIF of the Third Quarter Contest.
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