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 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.
Dallas Keuchel’s Fastball – One of the more overlooked improvements this off-season has been more stadiums changing their centerfield camera locations, with the Astros giving us a much more centered look in 2017. This helps us finally get consistent looks at Keuchel’s Fastball movement and oh-by is it nice. Just watch the late action on this riding heater to Danny Espinosa.
Adam Ottavino’s Slider – Ottavino is a great option in fantasy whether your league has holds as a category or not. His rate stats are good, and he’s got the potential to nab the closer job later on in the year. This Slider is as filthy as they come, starting out of the hand en route to Justin Turner’s hip before acting like a whiffle-ball and bending back to the inside corner. (Thanks to @RFreemyer Redditors SheeshMeesh and Sharknado2016 for the tips!)
Noah Syndergaard’s Changeup – We could feature a Syndergaard pitch after each one of his starts, which means that if we do it these days, it means the pitch is really really good. I think you’ll allow us to feature this offering as the ball disappears from the middle of the plate to the dirt in a hurry against Justin Bour.
Trevor Bauer’s Fastball – Bauer can be frustrating to watch with the way he nibbles around the zone when it seems his insane movement can overpower any hitter, but that movement is often difficult to command. Bauer’s command was good enough last night. This Two-Seamer seems to be going at Jason Castro’s hip before veering right over the inside corner for the backwards K.
Craig Kimbrel’s Curveball – The side-angle delivery makes Kimbrel’s Knuckle-Curveball act more like a Slider than other deuces, but regardless of its delineation, this pitch is all kinds of filthy. The slow motion of this pitch curling back to nip the outside corner is way too fun to watch over and over again.
Chris Sale’s Slider – Jose Bautista seems to realize after he starts his swing that he made a terrible mistake deciding to swing. He saves himself from looking completely foolish by holding his swing, but it’s still a strike and shows how difficult it is to face Chris Sale. (Thanks to Redditor ithrew88 for the tip!)
Jharel Cotton’s Changeup – Cotton’s Changeup has gotten plenty of attention thus far in the season and rightly so. It can make some of the more fearsome batters look foolish with each offering, like Rougned Odor falling to a knee trying to make contact with this slow ball in the first inning.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball – It’s too easy to talk about Kershaw these days as he’s definitively the best pitcher in baseball, but man oh man is it fun to watch batters squirm in the box against him. Watch Trevor Story join us as we’re head-over-heels in love with Clayton’s signature Curveball. (Thanks to Redditor PowerFalcons 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=9730763]
Did Keuchel have that much movement on his fastball last year?