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!
Alek Manoah’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/SplendidSpectacularKrill
It’s nice to know that Alek Manoah will be throwing this slider for years to come. It’s just such a phenomenal pitch and it helped him yesterday against Twins. Here Manoah sweeps the pitch past Mitch Garver who has no choice but to swing at something that looks like it’s going across the heart of the plate before zipping out of the zone.
Shane Baz’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/SourShrillCattle
Speaking of young guys who will hopefully be around for a while, Shane Baz pitched a gem against Miami yesterday. Baz is known for his lethal heater and deadly hook, and here Baz bends the latter of the two out of the zone to get Bryan De La Cruz swinging.
Shohei Ohtani’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/HotFlickeringCaimanlizard
It’s only a matter of time before Shohei Ohtani is named AL MVP following one of the greatest seasons in MLB history. Ohtani merely locked himself further into that award with his performance on the mound yesterday. He was absolutely dominant and here’s his filthiest offering of the day. 98 mph and paint. Filthy.
Scott Barlow’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/HairyFormalAsp
Scott Barlow closed the game out for the Royals yesterday, and although he gave up a run, he was able to hold the lead against Detroit. Barlow has a filthy curve, and here he drops it out of the zone for a swinging strikeout.
Liam Hendriks‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/SelfassuredRipeHairstreakbutterfly
Sticking with closers, we go to the best one in the league, Liam Hendriks. Hendriks’ three pitch mix of his heater, slider, and curve is one of the best in the league, and here he slips the slider out of the zone to get a swinging strike three.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/GrouchyPotableJaguarundi
Kevin Gausman pitched phenomenally yesterday for the Giants in Coors Field. Seven of his 11 Ks came on his splitter, so there were a lot of choices to go with. But it’s this disgusting splitter to Ryan McMahon that earns a feature today.
John Means‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/cooldopeydogwoodclubgall
The Orioles don’t have many things to root for this year, but at least they have a budding ace in John Means on the mound for them. Means struck out eight over five frames, and none were prettier than this nasty curveball that gets Nate Lowe swinging out of the zone.
Aaron Ashby’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/InexperiencedResponsibleImperatorangel
The Brewers have one of the best bullpens in the league and even their second-tier guys have filthy stuff. Here it’s Aaron Ashby who rips a wicked sinker right past Michael Conforto who swings through the pitch.
Anthony Gose’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/TerribleWellwornKillifish
Anthony Gose pitched an inning in relief for Cleveland. Gose was able to notch two strikeouts and his second one was fantastic. 99 mph on the edge of the zone and Gavin Sheets just goes down looking.
Joe Musgrove’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/WideUnlinedCaudata
Joe Musgrove struck out nine hitters yesterday and eight of them went down on the slider. That made it hard to choose one to put in here, but it’s definitely this one to Travis d’Arnaud that was his filthiest of the day.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)