During spring training, the We Love Baseball crew is warming up for the regular season with nastiest pitches updates three times a week. The camera angles for some of the spring training broadcasts don’t help present the true nastiness of the pitches chosen. We are doing the best we can to accentuate the nastiness with the available resources.
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.
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Jacob deGrom’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/jovialshockedharborporpoise
Jacob deGrom fell just short of winning his third straight NL Cy Young award last year but remains the betting favorite to win the 2021 award. His elite repertoire was on full display Tuesday as he struck out six in four innings of work. His second strikeout of the day came against Michael Brantley as he followed up five consecutive 99+ MPH fastballs with a perfectly placed 93 MPH slider.
Clayton Kershaw’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/necessaryterrificbrahmanbull
Speaking of past Cy Young winners, Clayton Kershaw showed off his dominant slider on Tuesday to strikeout Daniel Robertson. Kershaw was hit around a bit in this one, including a couple of home runs, but should return to form heading into the regular season.
Joe Musgrove’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/briefwealthyafricanclawedfrog
Joe Musgrove joins a strong San Diego rotation this year and should play a big role in the team’s postseason aspirations. He had a career-high 33% K rate in the shortened 2020 season and will look to continue that going into 2021. He struck out four in four innings on Tuesday and got Andrew Vaughn to whiff on this big curveball.
Peter Solomon’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/impressionableeagericeblueredtopzebra
Peter Solomon has yet to pitch above single A ball but got the start for the Astros on Tuesday, turning in a respectable performance against the Mets. He struck out four over two and a third innings, including striking out the side in the second, and ended the inning with this nice breaking ball at the bottom of the zone to put away James McCann.
Zach Pop’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/grizzledunfortunateamericanblackvulture
Zach Pop got an inning of work in during Monday’s matchup with the Astros. He struck out two in his outing, including getting Jose Altuve to swing over a sinker with a ridiculous amount of movement.