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 Saturday to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half Contest. Week 21’s winner was Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball Hicks is on top with his shot out of a cannon Fastball.
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.
This week has some familiar faces including a ridiculous Cutter, a couple sharp breaking Sliders and one baffling Changeup. Check back next Saturday to see which GIF our readers picked as the nastiest pitch of the week.
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Kyle Hendricks‘ Changeup – Hendricks fanned six in five innings of work on Thursday. His changeup here floated its way beautifully onto the outside corner, getting a big swing and whiff from Trea Turner.
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Michael Kopech’s Fastball – We’re still waiting for Michael Kopech to have that statement game, but until then we can still enjoy the flashes. This Fastball to V-Mart has us fans clamoring for him to put it all together.
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Felipe Vazquez’s Slider – Usually I don’t use GIFs that get cut off, but this Vazquez slider was too dang nasty to leave off. Look at how sharp that pitches break is, and how far out of the strike zone it ends up. Pitches that are 89 miles per hour don’t move like that very often.
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Jordan Hicks‘ Slider – Normally when we feature Hicks, it’s his 100+ MPH fastball we’re showing you, but today it’s this filthy slider he threw to Andrew Stevenson with a dope strikeout pose at the end. Hicks was excellent yesterday, as usual, pitching a shutout inning with two strikeouts and earning a hold.
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Walker Buehler’s Fastball – Paul Goldschmidt tossed his bat in the air in resignation after the Dodgers rookie blasted him on the inside corner with this grimy fastball. It’s tough to blame the D-backs star, as Buehler’s heater looked great on several occasions, including here against Eduardo Escobar. (H/t to our own Michael Wexler for the spot.)
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Blake Treinen’s Cutter – Treinen sported his usual grimy sinker, but this inside cutter to Ben Gamel (which followed the same flight path, save for the sinker’s last-second bite) started at the shoulders and dropped below the knee to take down the Seattle outfielder.
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner may be featured in the GIF of the Third Quarter Contest.
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