Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games. If you see something you think should be included here be sure to tweet @PitcherList to let us know. Or, if you’re a PL+ Member and part of our Discord, shout it out in the Nastiest Pitches channel.
Hurston Waldrep’s Splitter
Atlanta’s top pitching prospect, Hurston Waldrep, made his MLB debut on Sunday, and while the results weren’t what he wanted (seven earned runs over 3.2 innings), he did show off his filthy stuff that has gotten him to this point so soon in his professional career. This filthy splitter helped earn his first career strikeout, and it clocked in at a miniscule 686 RPM. The slo-mo angle really shows just how much this pitch tumbles. Waldrep has a bright future ahead of him.
James McArthur’s Sinker
J.P. Crawford led this game off with a home run (for the second day in a row), but James McArthur got the last laugh with this nasty sinker that freezes Crawford in his shoes.
Grayson Rodriguez’s Curveball
Grayson Rodriguez chucked 102 pitches but couldn’t get through six innings and earn a quality start, unfortunately. He did earn post strikeouts and allowed only three baserunners across 5.2 innings, however, and this nasty curveball was as good of a pitch as he threw all day.
Carlos Carrasco’s Changeup
Carlos Carrasco is not the pitcher he once was, but he still flashes moments of brilliance every once in a while. This changeup was classic Cookie, fooling youngster Vidal Bruján into a silly whiff.
Andrew Nardi’s Slider
When I’m looking for nasty pitches, I look for pitches that pass the “oof” test. Pitches that make me go “oof” out loud. I also look for pitches that pass the “Did Josh Naylor’s helmet fly off?” test. And this one definitely does.
Carson Spiers‘ Sweeper
After starter Frankie Montas got shelled in his 1.1 innings, Carson Spiers relieved him and cruised through 5.2 innings of shutout ball with relative ease. He kept the Reds alive and gave them a chance to win, but their offense simply couldn’t do anything against Shota Imanaga and the Cubs. This sweeper is filthy and would have been higher on this list if Cincy’s center field camera angle wasn’t the worst in the league.
Kenley Jansen’s Cutter
Kenley Jansen dominated the White Sox on Sunday to the tune of five strikeouts over two strong innings. The Red Sox closer doesn’t throw two innings very often at this point in his career, but while in the midst of a bullpen day they asked him for it and he delivered in a big way.
Danny Young’s Sweeper
I didn’t have a chance to catch much of the London Series this weekend, but the ninth inning of Sunday’s game is as great of an ending as you’ll see all year. It’s absolutely worth going back to watch. In the midst of said game, Danny Young came in struck out two of the three batters he faced, with his final pitch of the outing being this sweeper with a ridiculous amount of break. We unfortunately don’t know how much horizontal break this one got, but it passes the eye test regardless.
Kyle Nicolas‘ Slider
Kyle Nicolas didn’t do much good in his 15 pitches of work, but this slider to Willi Castro is nasty and that’s all we needed him to do for our purposes.
Zack Littell’s Splitter
I love guys who throw changeups/splitters from the left side of the mound in Tampa Bay. It always produces a great GIF, and this splitter from Zack Littell against MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson is fantastic.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram