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.
Matt Carasiti’s Forkball
Personally, this day has been a long time coming. I highlighted the Nastiest Pitches in the NL/AL West (RIP Gfycat) for my very first Pitcher List article all the way back in 2020. It was in researching that piece that I discovered Matt Carasiti’s forkball, and I’ve never had an opportunity to GIF it for Nastiest Pitches until tonight. Carasiti was called up by the Rockies prior to their game on Friday, and he held his own in a high-leverage situation. Carasiti has really bounced around the last few years, including a stint with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) in 2022, so this was a very nice surprise seeing him pitch tonight. Here’s to hoping Carasiti sticks around and throws more of these in the coming weeks.
Jhoan Duran’s Splinker
Talk about passing the “oof” test. Jhoan Duran’s splinker is a top 5 nastiest pitch in all of baseball, and he paints the upper corner of the zone with this one. Simply untouchable.
José Leclerc’s Cutter
I love the tight spin and electric movement on this cutter from José Leclerc. It’s heading for the edge of the zone before cutting in and dropping sharply at the last minute, and Willi Castro never had a chance.
Darius Vines‘ Slider
How often do you see a player chuck the bat after a pitch like Oneil Cruz did here? Very rarely. That’s a result of being fooled by a perfectly executed slider, which is exactly what Darius Vines does here.
Corbin Burnes‘ Curveball
I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t include Corbin Burnes on a night that he pitched. His curve was his best pitch on the night, earning a 40% CSW on 15 thrown. On his final pitch of the game, Burnes nearly makes Nicky Lopez take off like a helicopter with this nasty curveball.
Bailey Ober’s Changeup
It was surprisingly a bad day for changeups, as this changeup from Bailey Ober was really the only nasty one I saw all night. Though don’t be fooled – this was not a pity inclusion by any means. This pitch is filthy.
Alek Manoah’s Slider
It’s great to see Alek Manoah back in the majors striking out Major League hitters. He didn’t have the most efficient outing of his career, but he flashed some moments of that former greatness and I still see something in him. This slider is as good as it gets.
Logan Allen’s Sweeper
Logan Allen had himself a pretty good night, striking out seven en route to a blowout victory over the Angels. He wasn’t the sharpest, but he got enough help from José Ramírez and the rest of the offense so that it didn’t really matter. The sharp bite on this sweeper really makes Kevin Pillar look silly.
Seth Lugo’s Curveball
Is Seth Lugo the hottest pitcher on the planet right now? He’s certainly in the conversation. Let’s wrap this edition of Nastiest Pitches up with two filthy pitches he threw in Friday’s game against the Rays. First, this curveball with a whopping 3446 RPM ended the 4th inning.
Seth Lugo’s Slurve
Later in the game, Lugo fooled Randy Arozarena with this wicked slurve that moved a ton at the last moment to end up way out of the zone.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram