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!
Emmanuel Clase’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/limitedbetterfirefly
Emmanuel Clase has some of the flashiest stuff in baseball and has shown that since taking over as closer. Finishing off Thursday’s win over the Royals, Clase struck out just one batter but gave Ryan O’Hearn no chance with this 101 mph cutter.
Gerrit Cole’s Knuckle Curveball
https://gfycat.com/delectablecalmblowfish
Gerrit Cole had himself a tiring game of chess on Thursday as he put it, putting up seven strong in a no-decision against his former team. While he did not have his strikeout stuff working full, this knuckle curve made Yuli Gurriel look like he was on roller skates as he swung through it for the strikeout.
Danny Duffy’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/anchoredloneitalianbrownbear
Danny Duffy battled through 5.2 innings on Thursday, and while not exactly displaying his best stuff he still finished with a 28% CSW, including a 35% on his slider. He finished with six strikeouts including this slider, which caused Josh Naylor to flail down hoping to make some sort of contact.
Lance McCullers. Jr’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/revolvingclosecopperbutterfly
Lance McCullers Jr./b>. brought his paintbrush to work on Thursday painting to corners to a tune of a 32% CSW. Here we see a prime example of that as he paints the outside corner with a gorgeous sinker catching Kyle Higashioka looking.
Colin McHugh’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/leftmediumgibbon
In his first outing since coming off the Injured List, Colin McHugh opened up the game with two innings and five strikeouts to a 61% CSW. One of the five strikeouts was on this curveball to Jose Iglesias, dropping down and leaving Iglesias unable to hold up on his swing.
Triston McKenzie’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/opengregariousbandicoot
Triston McKenzie battled his way through five shutout innings in the win over the Royals on Thursday. Though his command was still a bit off at times, McKenzie allowed only two hits and struck out five. Among those strikeouts was this check swing by Ryan O’Hearn to escape a jam and hold a one-run lead.
Brandon Woodruff’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/secondarygiddybordercollie
Brandon Woodruff battled pitch-for-pitch with Zach Wheeler on Thursday, and while Woodruff took the loss it was not on his own accord, as he finished with a CSW of 35% with 11 strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Among these strikeouts was his first one, a slow-moving changeup that dropped and sent Rhys Hoskins down swinging.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)
I can’t choose between everything prior to McHugh + Woodruff. Utter filth.