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 Second Half Contest, which will be live this All-Star week. 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.
Blake Treinen’s Fastball – It’s well known that Treinen has one of the most ridiculous heaters in the game and this first pitch to Nomar Mazara is as good as they come. Treinen spotted the pitch on the inside corner after the 98mph Fastball started at Mazara’s chest. Crazy.
Dellin Betances‘ Curveball – Sure, you’ve seen plenty of Betances Curveballs this year and they are all filthy. But have you seen one come in at 90mph?! Didn’t think so.
J.D. Davis‘ Slider – Before rosters expand on the first of the month teams are still apt to use a position player in a blowout to avoid taxing more important arms. Davis came on last night and broke off probably the best breaking ball I’ve seen from a true position player. Shin-Soo Choo seems shocked.
Mitch Moreland’s Fastball – It’s always fun to watch position players get their chance on the hill and Moreland looked surprisingly decent against the Orioles during Friday’s blowout. Watch him blow away Caleb Joseph with some high “heat” at 90mph.
Jose Berrios’ Curveballs – Berrios has been on fire lately, accumulating 27 strikeouts across his last three starts. The pitch we all enjoy watching to no end is his Curveball, which was all kinds of filthy. Here are two of his best from yesterday, both coming against poor victim Matt Davidson as he weakly flailed at each pitch as they dove well out of the zone. (Thanks to @JWMarvel5 for the tip!)
Aaron Nola’s Fastball – Nola’s Two-seamer is one of my favorite pitches to GIF up. The movement here is ridiculous as the ball moves from outside the strike zone on the outer half, all the way to inside third of the plate. Tyler Flowers is left bewildered by the movement.
Joe Kelly’s Curveball – Kelly has found his role in the Red Sox pen and was dominant against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night. He buckled Jose Bautista with this sweet Curveball, earning him a well deserved backwards K.
Collin McHugh’s Curveball – McHugh has found his groove in 2017 after a disappointing 2016 season and kept his success going against the Rangers Thursday afternoon. His performance can be summed up with this big Curveball that made Adrian Beltre “flinch” in the box, to put it lightly.
GIF Of The Week
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Second Half Contest.
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