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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Kutter Crawford’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/euphoricbelatedeyas
The fact that a guy named Kutter has a natural gift for spin and whose best pitch is a cutter is either one of the greatest coincidences of all time or some devil magic. Regardless, this cutter ran way in on the hands of Anthony Rizzo and got a big whiff. Kutter’s cutter earned six of his 11 whiffs of the day with a 34% CSW.
Lance McCullers Jr.‘ Knuckle Curve
https://gfycat.com/thoroughalldove
He’s back! McCullers made his first major league start today after missing a good chunk of the season with injury. He went right back to his dominant ways, shutting out the A’s over six innings while striking out five. Just like in previous seasons, he’s thrown this breaking ball more than any other pitch.
Logan Webb’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/lastrealasiansmallclawedotter
Webb’s sinker averaged a tick below his season average this year. His solution? Stop throwing sinkers. Webb had his best start of the year today, shutting out the Pirates over eight innings with nine strikeouts and a 38% CSW, and he did so while throwing just 20 sinkers in his 99 pitches. The pitch that led the way today was this changeup, which racked up 11 whiffs, including the one you see here.
Jacob deGrom’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/inferiorbeneficialbactrian
As time goes on, deGrom seems to only get more and more dominant. He’s picked up right where he left off last season, using his near-robotic command of a triple digit fastball and elite mid-90s slider. He threw six innings today with 10 strikeouts and no walks, and this slider was actually his “worst” pitch today, with “only” a 37% CSW. Through three starts, deGrom has a 1.62 ERA and has struck out half the batters he’s faced.
Adam Wainwright’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/meatycharmingcanary
So far you’ve seen a lot of pitchers who use a non-fastball as their primary pitch, and I’m not done yet. Wainwright threw 45 curveballs, more than any other pitch, and touched the elusive 3000 rpm spin rate mark a few times. Despite his age and veteran status, his statlines still look like a throwback to the past. He threw nine innings and allowed just one run, something almost no one else does nowadays, although he unfortunately wasn’t credited with a complete game because the Brewers won in extra innings.
Zac Gallen’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/brieflittlealligatorsnappingturtle
Gallen at his best is what happens when you fuse elite breaking stuff with premium command of the zone. This cutter was perfectly located low and away to CJ Cron, and it definitely got him flailing. Gallen threw seven shutout innings with six strikeouts despite the thin air of Colorado.
Taylor Rogers‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/giftedgorgeousamurstarfish
Rogers has quietly been one of the better relievers in baseball during his career, with a 136 ERA+ over the past five seasons. He features an elite sinker/slider combo that averages up to 30 inches of horizontal separation between them. Rogers always keeps hitters guessing, and he earned five whiffs in just one inning in this game.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle Curve
https://gfycat.com/agilescalycob
Nola’s curve is easily one of the best breaking balls in the league, featuring horizontal movement in the realm of some of the best “sweepers”, while also getting more vertical drop than nearly anyone else. The sheer amount of movement compounded with the fact that it breaks in the opposite direction of his fastball and changeup make him ridiculously hard to hit, and it had an incredible 55% CSW in this start. Here, he gets Daniel Vogelbach to give up on it before it drops right into the zone.
Scott Effross‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/fluffyraggedaquaticleech
Since being traded from the Cubs, Effross has shown off the elite stuff that’s made him one of the best relievers in the league this year. The sweeper you see here is easily his best pitch, but he also features a fastball and changeup too. The unhittable stuff on display explains why despite being a rookie, he’s being used as a closer for the first-place Yankees.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)