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.
Congrats to Blake Treinen’s Slider for winning Nastiest Pitching GIF of the Week! Once again, Treinen steals the vote, this time with his Slider wowing us with its unreal movement.
[gfycat data_id=”EnchantedPracticalBarebirdbat” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Noah Syndergaard’s Fastball – We were thrilled to finally get a decent amount of Syndergaard time in the final game of the year and he struck out a pair in two brief innings. Our favorite pitch was the final one of Thor’s 2017 season as he painted the inside corner at a blistering 101mph. The bad news is that we need to wait until next year to see it again.
[gfycat data_id=”JaggedImmaculateAmericanpainthorse” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Adam Ottavino’s Slider – It’s no secret that Ottavino gets a boatload of movement on his slide piece. We’re looking forward to seeing it in action for the Wild Card game on Wednesday and we got a taste over the weekend as Cody Bellinger left empty-handed trying to hit this bender as it swerved across the plate.
[gfycat data_id=”OblongAllGossamerwingedbutterfly” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Deck McGuire’s Fastball – Deck isn’t a pitcher you’re likely to have known about before this weekend, but he’s already earned himself a feather in his cap after fanning Kris Bryant. Check out the movement on this heater as it zoomed up and out of the strike zone.
[gfycat data_id=”TallBlondFerret” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Masahiro Tanaka’s Splitter – Tanaka impressed us all on Friday with a brilliant 15 strikeout effort against the Jays. His world famous Splitter was as phenomenal as ever, giving us a hint of what was to come as he fanned Josh Donaldson with the pitch during the opening frame.
[gfycat data_id=”TightPowerlessAntipodesgreenparakeet” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Wade Davis‘ Cutter – Having Davis at the back of their pen after losing Chapman to free agency has been a major factor for the Cubs returning to play October baseball. His money pitch is a nasty Cutter that moves plenty at 91mph hour, which helped get out of a tough jam on Saturday.
[gfycat data_id=”GrossSandyGentoopenguin” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Trevor Bauer’s Curveball – Bauer is primed for the playoffs with no drones in sight and on the best run of his career. His Curveball is a big reason for his success and used its vicious drop to freeze Adam Engel on Friday.
[gfycat data_id=”OpulentYellowCoqui” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Aroldis Chapman’s Slider – The Yankees need Chapman to be locked in for thier Wild Card game on Tuesday and the Cuban Missle looks ready to go after shutting down the Jays on Friday. After a few fouled off heaters, Chapman shut the door on Jose Bautista with a fantastic Slider the featured plenty of depth.
[gfycat data_id=”TerribleOnlyKinkajou” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Blake Snell’s Curveball – Snell has had an improved second half to the season, sealing his sophomore year with a brilliant 13 strikeout game on Sunday. He punched out many with his deuce, though this hook to Manny Machado took the cake.
[gfycat data_id=”SomberOrangeAfricanclawedfrog” data_controls=false data_title=false]
Luis Perdomo’s Fastball – You may begin to hear more of Perdomo in 2018 as he develops in San Diego and his Fastball is a reason why. Check out its excellent horizontal ride at 94mph to end the second inning on Sunday.
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.
[polldaddy poll=9843002]