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!
Brusdar Graterol’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/ellipticalvariablehornshark
A totally unfair 101 mph sinker with extras from Brusdar Graterol – too good for any hitter, and extremely harsh on Nationals veteran starting pitcher Jon Lester. Watch. Admire. Repeat.
Sandy Alcantara’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/craftygiftedgypsymoth
“I see you, Brusdar!” says Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara. The young righty peppered the lower part of the zone in this matchup with Austin Riley, finally getting him to strike out on a perfectly located 100 mph sinker with late, late dip.
Taijuan Walker’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/shorttermmixedgadwall
The pitch that has made things glorious for Taijuan Walker this season has been the two-seam fastball, and here you can see why. A vicious 95 mph sinker that delicately brushes the outside edge of the strike zone to fell Giancarlo Stanton. Simply wonderful.
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Kyle Muller’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/fastdetailedgopher
Ok, ok…they can’t all be nasty sinkers, I know! Let’s change it up a little with this slice of delight from yet another Atlanta young pitching prospect, Kyle Muller. This beautiful 90 mph slider is deGrom-esque as it sharply bites away from the lefty Jazz Chisholm.
Eli Morgan’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/weeklydisloyalamphiuma
This was my first real taste of watching Eli Morgan for an extended period and no doubt that changeup is legit. He was feeling for it a bit in the first inning and got into some trouble. Then he came out in the second and had it completely mastered, posting back-to-back Ks on the pitch. The first was this simply fantastic 77 mph Greinke-esque changeup to strike out young Astros hitter Taylor Jones.
Shane McClanahan’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/deliciouscheeryherculesbeetle
Last week, I saw Shane McClanahan’s new curveball for the first time. It looked very much like a slight iteration on his slider. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a close-up view of the release. But yesterday, we did. And oh baby it was beautiful. Disguised perfectly in the glove, you think it is the slider but the late drop and movement inside are simply phenomenal. Teoscar Hernández, the unlucky hitter.
Trevor Richards‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/uniformfirmgalah
This pitch really caught the eye today – after Eric Lauer pitched a beauty but got himself into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Pirates, Trevor Richards came on in relief and mopped it up nicely with this gem of an 85 mph changeup to the dangerous Ke’Bryan Hayes. Check out that late movement inside…wowsers!
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Tyler Mahle’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/saltyidenticalbobolink
You can really appreciate the way Reds starter Tyler Mahle mixes in his ripping split-change with his high-90s fastball to create swings and misses. Cubs infielder Ian Happ can’t help but chase a nasty 87 mph splitter low in the zone.
Tarik Skubal’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/demandingcoldbushsqueaker
You can see the confidence in Tigers rookie starter Tarik Skubal growing with every start. He is starting to use his changeup more effectively late in the count. He threw it over 20% of the time in his outing yesterday, nearly double his career average. Here he strikes out fellow rookie Andrew Vaughn with a lovely 80 mph change low and away.
Alex Cobb’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/poshfixedjaeger
Angels starter Alex Cobb opened up the game with a brilliant sequence to the league’s leader in hits, Cedric Mullins. Three straight split-finger fastballs induced a strikeout. Here is the death rattle, a perfectly placed 89 mph splitter that Mullins gets absolutely nowhere near.
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Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)