Every week, we review the nastiest pitches from the previous week in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and check back on Saturday to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the Second Quarter Contest. Week 13’s winner was Brad Peacock’s Slider. This pitch ends up just a bit outside after starting near the middle of the plate.
Week 14’s nastiest pitches include an interesting mix of sliders with differing depths, speeds, and breaks.
Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @PitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
Yonny Chirinos‘ Two-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/tastyorderlyharrier
Yonny Chirinos was amped and ready to go against the first-place Yankees yesterday. Chririnos threw one of his hardest fastballs of the night to strike out the leadoff hitter, the en fuego DJ LeMahieu. LeMahieu gives up on this two-strike pitch early and then watches the break on the ball bring it to the middle of the plate. Mesmerizing movement.
Dylan Cease’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/tautblissfulairedaleterrier
Despite a rough go of it at Triple-A in 2019, the White Sox still called up their top farmhand pitcher, Dylan Cease, who debuted Wednesday to mixed results. He struck out six Tigers over five innings of work, though four walks in that span was a disappointing, albeit expected, trade-off. The 23-year-old absolutely oozes talent though and should provide plenty of value for his fantasy owners this year.
Charlie Morton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/AdorableYearlyAnemonecrab
Charlie Morton was on fire last night in St. Petersburg. He threw 12 strikeouts over seven innings, with six of them coming on his deadly curveball. If I was allowed to put a compilation of all his strikeouts up here I would because they were all true filth. However, I’m constrained to one pitch, so I GIFed up this disgusting back door curve from the top of the third.
Jose Alvarado’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/honorableimpressiveiggypops
Jose Alvarado has had a very good season thus far for the Rays, sporting a 3.20 ERA and a great 12.1 K/9, with 7 saves to his name, though he’s struggled with walks at times. Alvarado has been no stranger to these roundups this year, and should continue to frequent it.
Colten Brewer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ResponsiblePalatableChanticleer
Speaking of dominant sixth innings in Europe, Colten Brewer also had a solid appearance. Brewer came in to relieve Eduardo Rodriguez and got out of the inning without allowing a hit, getting strikeouts on both of his outs, including this slider that fooled Brett Gardner.
Mike Soroka’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/uglysimpleakitainu
Mike Soroka has been nothing short of incredible to start his major league career, sporting a 9-1 record to go with a sterling 2.13 ERA in 14 starts this season. Soroka has been a highly touted prospect for sure, but I don’t know if anyone expected him to explode onto the scene the way he has this year. The 21 (!) year-old righty has just one game this season allowing more than 3 ER and, without said game, his ERA would sit at a ridiculous 1.69. Fantasy owners, enjoy the ride.
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner may be featured in the GIF of the Second Quarter Contest.
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Graphic by Michael Haas (@digitalHaas on Twitter)