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 Second 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.
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Alex Cobb’s Curveball – Cobb’s more well known out pitch is his Changeup, but his Curveball is nothing to sneeze at either. This Curveball to Seth Smith has great tumble, but also has good side to side action, and Smith had no chance of making contact.
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Luis Severino’s Changeup and Slider – There are only 3 pitchers in the majors this year with more Fangraphs WAR than Luis Severino. Severino has come along way since spring training when many around baseball wondered whether his stuff would profile better in the bullpen. Well his stuff is still good enough for the bullpen, but he’s refined his Changeup and command to turn himself into a top of the line starter. In this GIF Severino shows off his two non Fastball pitches, a great fading Changeup To Tucker Barnhart and a sick Slider at 90 MPH that breaks onto the hands of Billy Hamilton. (Thanks to Redditors BobaFett313 and akaSpac3 for the tip!)
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Jake Arrieta’s Curveball – Arrieta has thrown less of his sometimes erratic Cutter this year and is throwing his Curveball and Changeup a bit more to finish off hitters. Here Arrieta throws a great Curveball spotted beautifully on the corner to catch Yolmer Sanchez looking. A pitcher’s pitch for sure, but certainly too close to take.
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Brad Hand’s Slider – Hand was already the best reliever on the Padres, but with the trade of Brandon Maurer he’s moved into the closer’s role. Hand is still a prime candidate for a trade himself, but for now he’s finishing games using his varied Sliders, like this great backfoot version to Travis d’Arnaud.
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Chris Sale’s Fastball – Sale keeps mowing down hitters, and it’s now a surprise if Sale doesn’t strike out double digits every time out. I think Kyle Seager was probably looking for a Slider here because you won’t see a more feeble looking swing all year. I hope Seager was just trying to foul that off.
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Aaron Nola’s Curveball – Nola has been on a tear over his last 5 starts with a 1.32 ERA and 43 Ks over 34 innings. Nola combines his great two-seam Fastball with pristine command and a wipeout Curveball that froze Tyler White yesterday. (Thanks to Twitter follower @MattOrsi25 for the tip!)
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Ervin Santana’s Slider – Santana has exceeded expectations this year, but may only be experiencing a lucky streak with a 3.37 ERA, but a more in line with his career 4.90 xFIP. In this AB against Yasiel Puig, Santana throws nothing but Sliders, and is able to finish Puig with a sharp one that looks like a Fastball before it breaks toward the ground and out of the zone.
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Gio Gonzalez’s Curveball – There’s something so mesmerizing about a slow Curveball, and combined with Gio’s hard Fastball with movement, hitters have a tough time making contact vs. GG. Here Jonathan Villar can only swing through as Gio’s Curveball drops from nose to toes.
GIF Of The Night
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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I will vote Nola every single time