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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Corbin Burnes‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/aggravatingsilentguineapig
Corbin Burnes spotted this slider perfectly on the outside black to freeze Dom Nuñez. Burnes was able to add and subtract velocity and movement from his slider depending on the situation.
Max Fried’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/groundedidolizedconure
Max Fried may have missed his spot with this curveball, but great stuff can be effective no matter the location of the pitch. Fried gets a tremendous hump on his curve.
Chris Paddack’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/glumweefluke
Chris Paddack flashed his high upside talent last night striking out eleven batters in only five innings of action. Paddack primarily used his fastball to overpower hitters and mixed in his changeup to finish off hitters. Paddack’s one of my favorite pitchers to watch when he’s firing on all cylinders.
Trevor Bauer’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/recentmarvelousfruitfly
This pitch by Trevor Bauer may have ended up a little higher than he wanted, but Christian Walker still could not hold up. The problem for Walker is by the time he was in the middle of his swing he realized the movement on Bauer’s four-seamer was coming awfully close to his head. Walker took a spin and a fall in the process while Bauer celebrated by sheathing his sword.
Carlos Rodón’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/gracefulmajorafricanrockpython
Carlos Rodón reaching the potential that made him a top draft prospect puts a smile on my face. Rodón is an example of talent flourishing with maturity and health.
Luis Garcia’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/familiaremotionalkitten
Luis Garcia was impressive going toe to toe with Rodón before the bullpens took over. The late break on Garcia’s curveball flummoxed Brian Goodwin.
Miguel Castro’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/selfreliantdescriptiveivorybilledwoodpecker
Miguel Castro’s slender frame belies the velocity and movement he creates with his pitches. Castro’s slider has ridiculous lateral movement and Yan Gomes could not hold up his swing and avoid the strikeout.
Joey Lucchesi’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/tautelectriccavy
Joey Lucchesi throws multiple versions of his curveball so I’m not sure if this is his churve, but if not it’s still a nasty pitch that paints the outside black breaking away from the lefty Juan Soto. Soto was either not happy with the call or took a moment to appreciate the beauty of Lucchesi’s quality precision.
Ryan Pressly’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/pastelscarcefoxterrier
Ryan Pressly used to dominate with his fastball/curve combination, but he has relied on a slider as his primary breaking ball instead of his curve the last couple of seasons or so. Pressly still mixes in the curve, but his slider thrown in the low nineties is a nice new toy as well.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)