Codi Heuer’s Slider and the Nastiest Pitches from 9/17

Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition GIFs. We want to bring you the highest caliber of nastiness possible, so if you see a nasty pitch, please tell us about it. You can tweet @PitcherList to let us know and we’ll give you a shout-out here in the article if your tip makes the cut.

As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!

 

Codi Heuer’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/shabbydependablecarp

 

Codi Heuer is in his first season in the majors, and he burst onto the scene on Thursday with 1.2 innings of straight up filth. The slider had a ridiculous 8/12 CSW on the day and you can see exactly why Jorge Polanco waved at this knee-bending pitch. This isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing Heuer in nastiest pitches.

 

Kenta Maeda’s Changeup

 

https://gfycat.com/differentfalsedevilfish

 

This nasty changeup to strike out Yoan Moncada was easily the best of the day from Kenta Maeda. The pitch only earned a 28% CSW on the day, which is good but not nearly as good as the 49% CSW he slider earned. None of that really matters because all it takes is one excellent pitch to end up here, but Maeda had more than a few really good pitches on the day and he finished his outing after five innings with eight strikeouts. It wasn’t the most efficient outing of his fantastic season, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt against a playoff-bound White Sox team. (H/T PL+ member Ben Bingham)

 

Codi Heuer’s Sinker

 

https://gfycat.com/remoteinbornblowfish

 

I told you the slider wouldn’t be the last time we’d see Codi Heuer – this disgusting sinker was too good to leave out. The sinker had a 4/11 CSW and there were a couple others I considered that were just as filthy as this one. Seriously, keep an eye on Cody Heuer moving forward because he’s got the stuff to be a back end bullpen guy very soon.

 

Framber Valdez’s Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/quaintimpassionedearthworm

 

Framber Valdez struck out 11 over 6.1 innings on Thursday, and a lot of his success was with a curveball that earned 44% CSW on the day. He had more than a few of these that were worthy of inclusion but this one made the cut thanks to that sweet, sweet slomo.

 

José Ureña’s Sinker

 

https://gfycat.com/sparklingnearflatcoatretriever

 

This insane sinker from José Ureña completely buckled the knees of poor Yairo Muñoz. Ureña struck out six over 5.2 innings in what was a pitcher’s duel right up until he allowed two runs in the 6th. Ureña looked good in this one, and while we all know he’s a trick-or-treat pitcher it was fun to see him give us a treat in an afternoon game.

 

Aaron Nola’s Two-Seam Fastball

 

https://gfycat.com/helpfulpastelantipodesgreenparakeet

 

This nasty two-seamer from Aaron Nola dances back over the plate to strike out Robinson Chirinos and end the 2nd inning. Nola struggled in this one, allowing five earned runs on five hits in 5.1 innings, but he did strike out seven so it wasn’t a completely lost outing. The curveball was his best pitch on the night, not his two-seamer, but this was the nastiest of the bunch and absolutely had to be shared with the world.

 

Framber Valdez’s Sinker

 

https://gfycat.com/velvetycookedflyingfish

 

As I said earlier, Framber Valdez was insanely good on Thursday and this sinker was also too filthy not to include. I haven’t watched a lot of Framber this year but he passed the eye test for me tonight, big time. Granted, it was against the Rangers but it still counts for our purposes.

 

Shane Bieber’s Knuckle Curve

 

https://gfycat.com/dentalfatherlyfanworms

 

Another night, another 10 strikeouts for Shane Bieber. Ho hum. He had some pretty nasty two-seamers that did not look nearly as nasty as they should have because of this awful camera angle, so you’re getting a filthy knuckle curve instead. I think that’s a pretty fair trade.

 

Nathan Eovaldi’s Splitter

 

https://gfycat.com/betterbadclownanemonefish

 

Nathan Eovaldi had a fantastic outing on Thursday, allowing only two hits over five innings while striking out seven. Ideally the splitter would induce a whiff as it drops out of the zone, but this paint was sick and completely fooled Jesús Aguilar for strike three anyway.

 

Blake Snell’s Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/earnesthelpfulharrierhawk

 

Blake Snell struck out the red-hot rookie Ryan Mountcastle with this nasty Curveball that made poor Ryan look silly. It wasn’t Snell’s best day on the hill, as he only lasted 5.1 innings while allowing an earned run on two hits. The line is solid and you’ll take that for your fantasy team, but if you watched the game you could tell he wasn’t quite as sharp as he normally is. He should have had the win, but Diego Castillo blew the save in the 7th so Snell had to walk away with a no-decision instead. At least he made it into the nastiest pitches article, which is what every pitcher should really strive for.

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