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. 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.
Jose Fernandez’s Curveball – Call it what you want – Slider, Slurve, etc. – but Fernandez’s breaking ball is straight up nasty. Even Erick Aybar had no idea what this Curveball was when it moved in for the kill and crossed the plate. (Thanks to Redditor praeceps93 for the tip!)
Marco Estrada’s Curveball – Estrada left the game Tuesday after only 88 pitches due to tightness in his back. My back would probably give out too if I was throwing stuff like this wicked Curveball to Rickie Weeks. (Thanks to Redditor Funkagenda for the tip!)
Justin Verlander’s Changeup – JV got over the century mark Tuesday with 102 K’s total on the season. It’s easy to see why so many batters have fallen victim to pitches like this killer Changeup that drops out of reach for Leonys Martin.
Corey Kluber’s Curveball – Kluber threw a complete game Tuesday, shutting out the Rays. Along the way, he tallied nine strikeouts, including this swing-and-a-miss from Brad Miller as he chases a diving Curveball into the dirt.
Johnny Cueto’s Cutter – By the numbers, Cueto is one of the best pitchers in baseball right now, sporting a 2.06 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. Even at 30 years old the man can hurl, and if you don’t believe me, watch this front-door Cutter freeze Andrew McCutchen for a strikeout. (Thanks to Redditor artet for the tip!)
Blake Snell’s Curveball – Snell is 0-2 so far in three starts, but he did make it past six innings for his first quality start Tuesday. The Rays will no doubt be hoping he throws more stuff like this dive-bombing Curveball to Jose Ramirez.
Trevor Rosenthal’s Changeup – It’s a late add to today’s roundup, but we felt it necessary to include this pitch despite getting added past publication. Rosenthal shut the door on the Cubs and got rookie Albert Almora to chase this filthy Split-Changeup that fell off the table. (Thanks to commenter Kyle for the tip!)
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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Christopher Chase Edmunds is a writer for Pitcher List. He is currently working on a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Alabama. He grew up in Birmingham, perfecting the knuckleball in the backyard. He can be found streaming Colorado Rockies games and avoiding any association with the Atlanta Braves.