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!
Gerrit Cole’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/powerlessampleeskimodog
This… this is just unfair. Chance Sisco looks like he’s trying to punch a golf ball out from under a tree with a 7 iron, not hit a baseball. When you’ve got stuff that makes opposing batters like they’re playing a totally different sport, 10/10 times you’re gonna make it on Nastiest Pitches.
Kenta Maeda’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/smuggoodnaturedgoldfinch
Kenta Maeda is the winner of tonight’s GIF sandwich, though it was a close call between him and the next guy on our list. Maeda earned 42% CSW on his 25 changeups thrown, but he also had his slider working on the night with a 35% CSW. Maeda is locked in right now and there’s no stopping him.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/enragedimpressionableappaloosa
Devin Williams jumped off screen towards the dugout after this filthy changeup to get Sandy León swinging in the 8th. Williams earned 61% CSW on 18 changeups thrown in his two innings of work and it was all absolutely unhittable. We’re watching a reliever breakout into a star before our eyes.
Sean Manaea’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/hospitablegoldenanophelesmosquito
The look of misery on Eric Hosmer’s face as the ball whizzes past his flail of a swing is all you need to see to know how frustrating Sean Manaea was on Saturday. Manaea gave up one earned run in five innings of four-hit ball, striking out five along the way. His fastball touched 95 a few times and earned a 38% CSW against the red hot Padres offense. It was a nice bounce-back outing for Manaea, and hopefully he can keep it rolling next time out.
Lucas Giolito’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/relievedscentedirishwolfhound
Lucas Giolito painted this changeup in the perfect spot to earn a flailing whiff from the struggling Adalberto Mondesí. He didn’t have his no-hit stuff on Thursday (he gave up five of them), but the 43% CSW he earned on the pitch was stellar nonetheless.
Josh Staumont’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/mealyverifiablealpinegoat
Josh Staumont isn’t a guy I know very well, though I know he can hit 102 with his fastball which is pretty dope. Equally dope is this curveball, and while it’s not a great camera angle you can still see the wild break the pitch gets. It’s almost a little Karinchak-esque, where it breaks left to right on its way down, but that could just be the camera angle playing tricks with my eyes. Either way, it’s a nasty pitch that freezes José Abreu on its way by for a called strike.
Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/concreteblondgoosefish
It’s the night of the changeup, as Sandy Alcantara’s version of the pitch is the fourth one we see tonight. This one has some nasty break down and away that completely fools Joey Wendle for strike three. Alcantara had a fantastic outing on Saturday, striking out eight over six innings of one-run ball. His 11 changeups thrown earned an unreal 73% (!) CSW as he dominated the Rays lineup. This was a fun start to watch.
Chris Paddack’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/passionatedappergalah
The little bit of ride at the very end of this pitch as it tailed away from the end of the bat was simply beautiful. I’m not sure what Robbie Grossman was upset about here, but I imagine it had something to do with the fact that he unloaded on this pitch thinking he would smash one over the fence. Chris Paddack did not have a good outing on Saturday as he gave up four runs in 4.2 innings, but at least he had this pitch to look back on and say “Hey, I did something dope today.”
Blake Snell’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/safeincompleteirishredandwhitesetter
Blake Snell began his outing by striking out six of the first nine batters before giving up four runs over the next two innings. The fastball and slider were his two best pitches on the day, working off of each other to keep Miami on their toes through the first three innings before figuring something out in the fourth. Jon Berti had his struggles against Snell, striking out twice on two nasty breakers that were both worthy of inclusion tonight. But this one made the cut simply because I said so.
Seth Lugo’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/someconsciousbongo
Seth Lugo came out of nowhere to strike out eight Phillies in five innings of work on Saturday. It was a masterful performance where his breaking stuff was all on point (40% CSW on the slider, 36% CSW on the curveball) and he had the Phillies on their toes the entire time. This sinker didn’t quite hit his spot, but the way it glides back over the plate to earn a called strike three was still super impressive.