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.
Trevor Bauer’s Curveball – There were plenty of pitches to choose from Bauer last night, but this Curveball to Matt Joyce is noteworthy for its sharp break and the way Bauer is able to bury it at the feet of Joyce. The late drop on this nasty pitch shows the somewhat untapped potential of Bauer. When he’s on he’s a top of the rotation starter.
Robbie Ray’s Fastball – Ray now has 25 straight innings without allowing a run, and his pristine command is a big part of his unexpected streak. This Fastball to Jose Osuna is rather straight, but located right at the knees on the inside part of the plate at 96 MPH. It’s a borderline strike, but certainly too close to take.
Luis Severino’s Slider – Severino is pitching like an ace right now, and making his case for #1 starter in NY in 2018. Severino’s Slider looks like a Fastball over the plate before falling off the plate sharply at 88 MPH to strike out the struggling Manny Machado. (Thanks to Redditor juwanhoward4 for the tip!)
Justin Verlander’s Fastball – Verlander seemed to be declining in early 2016, but as this 96 MPH Fastball with great movement shows, he is far from done. Jorge Bonafacio seems to want to take this pitch off the outside part of the plate before it sharply breaks toward the middle third of the zone. Nasty movement.
Mike Fiers‘ Curveball – Fiers is battling for his rotation spot currently, and his last two starts have shown that his Curveball can still strike hitters out. This straight 12-6 looper is real tough to swing at, as Ehire Adrianza can attest to.
Dinelson Lamet’s Slider – Lamet still hasn’t shown much of a third pitch, but his Fastball/Slider combo is working to miss bats effectively in his brief time in the majors. He may be a reliever longterm, but his Slider will miss bats in the majors. John Jay swings over the top of this Slider buried underneath his hands.
Jose Berrios’ Curveball – Berrios lost control of the plate last night, and paid te price for it with 4 BBs and 4 ERs, but his Curveball still had its moments. This breaker to George Springer start the game is similar to the one we saw dominate voting last week, but with a little less depth on the break.
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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Damn Luis, that’s just rude.