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!
Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/pettyscholarlycommabutterfly
Rich Hill has been around forever, and batters pretty much know exactly what they’re going to get from him at this point. That makes it even more impressive when Hill is able to make one of the game’s best young hitters shake his head in disappointment after a wild swing at a pitch way out of the zone.
Kyle Bradish’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/idolizedveneratedbarbet
Meanwhile, in the other dugout, Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish made his MLB debut on Friday at the ripe old age of 25. He held his own against one of the best offenses in the league on paper, though the Red Sox haven’t exactly shown that promise early on in the season. Either way, throwing junk like this is a good way to get yourself an extended look in the bigs.
Matt Brash’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/harshgraciousindianpangolin
A guy who made his MLB debut earlier this season, Matt Brash, has been a Nastiest Pitches stalwart all year and has been featured here after each of his four starts. For some reason, Jesús Sánchez decided to do his best Tony Hawk impression after whiffing at this disgusting slider.
Matt Festa’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/plushlinedantelope
Another Matt out in Seattle, Matt Festa, continues to throw junk out of the bullpen. His slider has a 38% CSW on the year and is as filthy as they come.
Tanner Houck’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/forthrightdimpledbighornedsheep
Speaking of filthy sliders, Tanner Houck’s slider is arguably the nastiest in baseball at the moment, and this one moved right across the plate before diving at the back foot of Rougned Odor.
Bryan Abreu’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/yawningdisgustingasiantrumpetfish
After four straight sliders, it’s time for a bit of a change. Here’s a 101 MPH fastball with a ton of ride that Bryan Abreu blew past George Springer just below the heart of the zone.
Jimmy Herget’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/pessimistictediouslacewing
Do you like your heat with a little more movement? I wouldn’t necessarily call this 91 MPH sinker from Jimmy Herget “heat,” but it gets a ton of movement and dives under the bat of Leury García at the last minute.
Kyle Bradish’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/disloyalglamorousgossamerwingedbutterfly
Let’s dip our feet into the Kyle Bradish pool one more time for a changeup that’s nearly as fast as Herget’s sinker. He may have been saddled with the loss, but Bradish certainly opened some eyes with his performance against Boston on Friday night.
Lucas Giolito’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/jitterydeficientbrahmancow
Lucas Giolito’s changeup also deserves to be highlighted after racking up a fantastic 41% CSW against Jared Walsh and the Angels. Walsh couldn’t help but flail helplessly at this nasty changeup out of the zone.
Hunter Greene’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/wellwornverifiablehomalocephale
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a slider, so let’s cap this off with one more – one from a guy who you probably thought you’d see a fastball from. Hunter Greene didn’t throw a triple-digit fastball on Friday, but this filthy slider with a bunch of late break should quench your thirst for Greene this week.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)