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.
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Trevor Bauer’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/drearyfantasticant
Trevor Bauer had 39% CSW on the night Monday, striking out eight over six strong innings. He got himself into a couple of jams but proceeded to work his way out of them and limit the damage to only two runs. He used this filthy sinker to escape yet another jam in the fourth inning, and LaMonte Wade Jr. simply could not believe he let this one slip past him.
Blake Treinen’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/remorsefullightheartedbobwhite
The nasty king came back for more last night as he threw multiple sliders with insane bend and this was simply the best of the bunch. Blake Treinen has an otherworldly 41.6% CSW on his slider this season, putting it up there as one of the most elite strike getters in all of baseball. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know why—that thing moves like a banana.
Eli Morgan’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/hauntingperkygallowaycow
A 35% CSW with his changeup last night is right on par with his season average, and while Eli Morgan didn’t wow us by any sense of the word, he was still effective enough to earn the win. Winning is ultimately all that matters, but hopefully he can start working to knock down that 9.37 ERA as well.
Carlos Hernández’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/heavenlygrizzledislandcanary
Not only is this pitch 100 MPH paint with movement, Carlos Hernández also nearly broke the ankles of Rafael Devers, too. In fact, I’m not quite sure how Devers didn’t injure himself on this swing. The man swings with 115% effort every time and this one is about as awkward as it can get. It goes to show just how fooled he was.
Anthony DeSclafani’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/grippingpowerlessasianlion
Tony Disco threw 35 sliders on Monday night and earned a 29% CSW with them. This one was simply unfair, and Cody Bellinger took a hack at it like he was trying to get out of a greenside bunker.
Raisel Iglesias‘ Sinker
https://gfycat.com/hopefulgiddyblackwidowspider
Between Rafael Devers and Luke Voit, we had some pretty gnarly whiffs on Monday. This one was on a sinker up and in near the head, and he’s lucky he didn’t lean into it. I love the slo-mo view from the side that shows us a fantastic view of the spin on the ball—not an obscene amount of movement, but filthy nonetheless.
Brad Hand’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/slushydependablecopepod
I’m not quite sure how Brad Hand does it. His mechanics are very uniquely stiff, yet he still throws near the mid-90’s with nasty breaking stuff to boot. He struck out two and earned the save on Monday night in 1.2 innings of work, showing that he’s still got plenty in the tank left for those who were doubting him in the offseason.
Josh Staumont’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/narrowhollowamericanpainthorse
Josh Staumont may be known most for his upper-90’s heater, but his curveball is just as filthy (if not filthier). The off-speed offering actually has the higher CSW on the season (34.5%) because he keeps batters off balance by throwing it only 31% of the time. I think Christian Vázquez realized his mistake mid-swing, and you can see it on his face.
Michael King’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/coolbouncyalligator
Another front door sinker for a backwards K dons this list courtesy of Michael King. King allowed eight baserunners in 4.1 innings, killing his WHIP, but the sinker had a 40% CSW and was looking great for the majority of the night. If only he could figure out some of his secondary stuff…
Kyle Freeland’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/webbedunawareflies
Much to the delight of my co-manager Alex Tran, Kyle Freeland pitched five fantastic innings on Monday night before exiting early with an injury he sustained on the bases. It was an unfortunate ending for the lefty, and we will simply just have to enjoy this nasty slider as we await further news of how the injury will impact his status moving forward.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)