Every Monday we review the nastiest pitches from the previous weekends’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. 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.
Congrats to Jose Berrios’ Curveball for winning Nastiest Pitching GIF of the Week! Berrios looks likes he’s throwing a whiffle ball in one of our most popular GIFs ever.
Yu Darvish’s Slider – Darvish is a contender for nastiest stuff in the game, and while his Curveball is impressive his slider might be the best strikeout pitch in his arsenal. This Slider is a little hard to see the finish on, but the sharpness of the break is still apparent and leaves Ezequiel Carrera helpless. (Thanks to Redditor ThrownAwayUsername for the tip!)
Masahiro Tanaka’s Splitter – Tanaka’s two previous starts were terrible, and many Yankees fans were worried that he was hurt, or maybe he had just lost some key movement on his pitches. His career high 13 K outing should assuage any Yankees fan’s fears, and this Splitter to Matt Joyce shows he can still get the movement he needs on his pitches.
Joe Biagini’s Curveballs – Biagini has been suprisingly effective in a starter’s role this year with a 3.18 xFIP. These slow from nose to toes Curveballs left Shin-Soo Choo and Elvis Andrus bewildered.
Dallas Keuchel’s Slider – Keuchel’s surprising down year in 2016 is behind him, and he is back to using pitches that move in either direction combined with pinpoint command and speed changes to fool hitters. This Slider to Chris Davis garners a feeble wave for the K.
Max Scherzer’s Changeup – Scherzer has lived up to every penny of his huge contract so far, and is giving Nats fans hope for an overdue postseason run. This Changeup to Matt Szczur has great drop and looks just like Scherzer’s Fastball before dying during its path to the hitter.
Stephen Strasburg’s Changeup – Maybe Scherzer and Strasburg have talked with each other about how to throw a Changeup because the pitches look very similar. Strasburg throws his a little harder, but they both get great late drop on their Changeups. This pitch, also to Matt Szczur, was part of a 15 K outing for Strasburg that topped Scherzer’s 13 Ks from Friday night.
Koda Glover’s Slider – Glover came in for one out on Friday night to finish up Scherzer’s win, and showed why Dusty Baker wants him to be the permanent closer in Washington. This 96 MPH Slutter with movement is unhittable, and Hunter Renfroe might have nightmares about it. (Thanks to Redditor gpgpg for the tip!)
Aaron Nola’s Changeup – Nola didn’t pitch well on Friday because his Fastball command betrayed him, but all his pitches were still showing impressive movement. This Changeup to Jose Peraza has great run even if it caused Nola to miss his spot a little bit. Often times plus movement is more important than pinpoint command.
GIF Of The Weekend
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Week Contest.
[polldaddy poll=9757703]