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!
Daniel Lynch’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/immensecreativegazelle
Daniel Lynch’s first MLB strikeout was a pretty dang good one. Josh Naylor was on the receiving end of this filthy slider which actually has more of a knuckle-curve like grip to it. I’m no grip expert so I’m not the one to ask, but I’m sure we’ll hear more about this in the near future if Lynch keeps throwing this junk.
Adam Wainwright’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/evenrelievedelkhound
Adam Wainwright was activated from the IL ahead of this start and he helped the Cardinals earn a victory on the night. While he got the win, he still allowed five earned runs in a wild game that had everything from phantom foul tips to the lights in the stadium going out. Here’s a filthy curveball that got a wicked whiff out of Francisco Lindor for your viewing pleasure. (H/t PL+ member Charly)
Kenta Maeda’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/solidconsideratejavalina
Kenta Maeda wasn’t exactly back to his 2020 form, but he took a step in the right direction. He had a 37% CSW rate with the slider on the night and a 33% CSW rate overall. Considering he still pulled some pitches and wasn’t quite all that sharp that number isn’t all that shabby. As someone who rosters Maeda in far too many leagues, I’m cautiously optimistic after this outing.
José Quintana’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/madhomelyhog
This was the ninth and final strikeout of José Quintana’s night, as he was pulled right after this pitch to Kevin Kiermaier. Nine strikeouts is good, but five earned runs is not. Quintana isn’t the ace he once was, but he showed on Monday that he still has the stuff to fool batters on occasion.
Tyler Glasnow’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/blankhastyaphid
I first tweeted this pitch out saying it was a curveball, until I checked the velocity and realized it was actually the slider. 88 MPH with that kind of vertical drop? Unreal. The new pitch has been working wonders for Tyler Glasnow this season, and not even the best hitter on the planet can do anything about it.
Sam Coonrod’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/dimwittedbowedantelopegroundsquirrel
Sam Coonrod pitched a clean inning on Monday, striking out the side in 13 pitches. He didn’t quite hit his spot here, but triple digit gas down and away is filthy stuff no matter what.
Sergio Romo’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/impracticalliveamericanindianhorse
This frisbee slider from Sergio Romo turned Bo Bichette and his bat into a frisbee too. Romo came on in relief of starter Frankie Montas and went on to pitch a perfect inning, striking out the side on some nice pitches. Sergio’s still got it.
Emmanuel Clase’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/forsakenunsightlyamericanwigeon
We’ve become so enamored with Emmanuel Clase’s cutter that we forgot he also has a pretty darn good slider. Well, here’s a nasty one located perfectly on the corner of the zone for an easy whiff.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)