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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Josh Hader’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/whirlwindpepperygerbil
Josh Hader gets impressive lateral movement on his slider. Hader has had some trouble commanding his slider this year, and I’m not sure if he really hits his spot with this one. Either way, the pitch is filthy and catches Alek Thomas off guard before dropping right on the inside corner.
Blake Parker’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/amazingillinformedgoral
Blake Parker is not a household name, but nasty pitches can come from unexpected pitchers. Unexpected filth is sometimes more fun. I was watching the Marlins-Phillies game yesterday to keep an eye on Pablo Lopez, but I’m happy I kept it on to see Blake Parker make Matt Joyce look silly flailing at this change piece.
Corbin Burnes‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/neatscaredblackandtancoonhound
Corbin Burnes is another pitcher who has elevated his game in Milwaukee this season. I’m not sure what the Brewers player development team is doing up in Wisconsin, but it seems to be working. Burnes has moved from a reliever who had trouble getting lefties out to a guy who is likely to start a game in the playoffs. Burnes spots this slider perfectly on the outside corner.
Trevor Bauer’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/composedleftgroundbeetle
Trevor Bauer was amped yesterday. After this pitch to strike out Erick González, it seems like González is not happy with Bauer. On the previous pitch, González was able to foul off a similar knuckle-curve and Bauer wasn’t happy about it. Well, Bauer came back with an even better Knuckle-Curve that González couldn’t foul off.
Jorge López’s Two-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/inborngiganticbabirusa
The Orioles were hanging around .500 for a while before being swept by the Yankees over four games this weekend. The Orioles have pieced things together with a good offense and a taped-together pitching staff. Jorge López pitched a gem yesterday getting groundballs with his vicious two-seamer. López caught Travis D’Arnaud off guard with this 0-2 pitch that breaks right onto the outside corner. (h/t to PL+ member Matthew Q)
Ryan Helsley’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/falsecreamyfugu
Ryan Helsley got the loss yesterday after allowing 2 runs to the Brewers, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t throw some dirty pitches. This curveball has a vicious downward break and Christian Yelich was unable to make contact in a high-pressure moment.
Dinelson Lamet’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/defiantimpeccableivorybackedwoodswallow
Dinelson Lamet threw plenty of good sliders in the zone that missed bats, but when you can cause a swing and miss and then hit the batter on the fly with the pitch I feel like it needs to be included in Nastiest Pitches. Edwin Ríos won’t want to look at this at-bat on the tape, and he might catch some jokes from his teammates as well. Ríos can cling to his belief that he didn’t swing even if two umpires didn’t agree.
Evan Marshall’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/jauntybrowngroundhog
Evan Marshall’s curveball is one of the best pitches in baseball according to StatCast analysis. I learned that surprising fact myself through MLB’s Mike Petriello and after I saw that Marshall pitched last night I had to check it out. It’s an effective pitch, but also pretty gnarly looking as well.
Joakim Soria’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/assuredrelievedfossa
Joakim Soria will probably be able to break off a nice breaking ball when he’s old and gray. Soria doesn’t throw hard, but with his breaking balls, he doesn’t need to. This kind of slider is death to right-handed batters with its huge drop and subtle tilt.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/elaborateacceptableincatern
Last night, Devin Williams did not pitch well for the first time I’ve seen all year. Williams’ command of his changeup was spotty, and he had trouble throwing strikes in general. Williams was able to get out the jam he created by throwing a couple of changeups that were relatively tame for him, but still nasty enough to be included in this list.