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!
Chaz Roe’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/IllfatedScalyCaiman
There are two main reasons I love writing these articles. Firstly, there’s nothing better than sitting down for some Sunday afternoon baseball. Secondly, it gives me an excuse to shower Chaz Roe and his absolutely disgusting slider with endless praise. Roe is the unofficial king of nastiness, and here he shows just why that’s so. Roe struck out two Orioles with his frisbee slider, the first of which fooled Pedro Severino as he whiffed on one out of the zone.
Anthony DeSclafani’s Two-Seamer
https://gfycat.com/EarnestQuarterlyAsiaticmouflon
Following a stint on the 10-day IL to begin the year, Anthony DeSclafani made his season debut in the first of a two-game doubleheader in Detroit. DeSclafani was just okay on the mound in his first start of the year, striking out two batters over five innings, but he gets featured here thanks to this beauty of a front door two-seamer which causes Niko Goodrum to jump back in fear.
Tyler Alexander’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/AnchoredEmptyAmmonite
Staying in Detroit, let’s talk about a historic outing for Tyler Alexander, the Tigers reliever who made history yesterday as he tied the AL reliever record with nine consecutive strikeouts (you read that correctly, yes, nine)! Alexander was absolutely dominant as he rode through the Reds lineup, starting with Mike Moustakas in the number three hole up, and finishing up with Nick Castellanos here, who chases a filthy curve that drops just under the lower-inside corner, for a historic strike three.
Adam Ottavino’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ShockingUnfitAsianlion
Next up, we have a feature from Sunday’s nightcap, courtesy of none other than Adam Ottavino and his nasty slider. In a game that was highlighted by offensive outbursts from both sides of baseball’s most heated rivalry, we were treated to at least one nasty offering, and it comes right here. Mitch Moreland was absolutely fooled on this wicked backfoot slider, and Ottavino would go on to take credit for the win in this one, pushing the Yanks to 8-1.
Yohan Ramirez’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/QuaintFreshBighornsheep
You probably are not familiar with Yohan Ramirez. After all, he’s only pitched five innings of relief in his career, and they’ve all come for a largely irrelevant Mariners club. But this kid’s got some serious stuff. Ramirez has his fair share of control issues (in 62.1 innings in AA last year he walked 7.51 batters per 9 innings), but he’s also got the ability to induce whiffs. Here, he gets A’s center fielder Ramon Laureano to swing and miss at a filthy slider that runs away from the bat at the very last moment (H/T to PL+ member Chris Nichols).
Tommy Milone’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/DefiniteFloweryAlligator
One of the great things about a 60 game season is that we might have some unexpected playoff teams. Now, I know it’s only been eight games, but, the Orioles have been pretty darn competitive. They’ve won five of their first eight games, and Tommy Milone is starting to look a bit dangerous. Milone pitched a solid five innings and struck out eight Rays hitters en route to an Orioles win, which included this pitch, a filthy changeup that brought Manuel Margot down to a knee.
Aaron Civale’s Two-Seamer
https://gfycat.com/DisguisedCalmGentoopenguin
Aaron Civale pitched six quality innings yesterday afternoon, striking out nine, but also taking the loss against a Twins bullpen that pitched phenomenally for all nine innings. Civale plays an important role towards the back end of a stellar Indians rotation, and if he and Zac Plesac can come into full-form, the Indians will be a team to fear come October. Here, Civale throws a seriously filthy two-seamer that runs into the zone and freezes Jorge Polanco for a called strike three.
Dylan Cease’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/LightCalmAstrangiacoral
Now we move onto Kansas City, where we feature two nasty pitches. First off, how about a little heat from Dylan Cease? Cease has been a top pitching prospect for quite a while now, and after an underwhelming debut season in 2019, things deteriorated further in his first start of 2020, as he allowed four runs in just two innings. However, he redeemed himself yesterday with a six-inning quality start. Here he is blasting a powerful 98 mph heater past Salvador Perez for his first of four Ks on the day.
Aaron Bummer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/BarrenSpecificInexpectatumpleco
As promised, we stay with Chicago, this time to highlight their bullpen. Here we’re going with Aaron Bummer and his wicked backfoot slider that sweeps past Ryan McBroom (pun certainly, 100% intended). Bummer isn’t known for his strikeout stuff, but he’s already K’d 10 over 4.2 innings this season, so maybe this season could be the one Bummer takes a big step up (H/T to PL+ member Alex Tran).
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/JampackedGlumAztecant
Finally tonight, we welcome back the most dominant pitcher of the past decade, as Clayton Kershaw made his season debut for the Dodgers. Kershaw’s known for his lethal 12-6, and oh boy, is it nice to see Kershaw drop one in for a called strike on the corner. I would’ve loved to get a strike three curve for Kershaw, but, alas, we’ll have to settle for this 0-1 beauty that paints the edge against Ildemaro Vargas.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner may be featured in our Nastiest Pitches tournament midway through the season.
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