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.
Ryan Pepiot’s Changeup
This ball was there, and then it was not. Ryan Pepiot’s start in Pittsburgh last night didn’t exactly inspire anyone, but this pitch is as good as it gets. Straight up filth from Pepiot.
Jose Quintana’s Slurve
This nasty slurve completely corkscrews Cody Bellinger, just as the Mets’ bats completely corkscrewed Shota Imanaga off the mound early in a flurry of hits and runs at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. Jose Quintana did what we all were expecting out of Shota, throwing 6.1 strong innings while striking out eight along the way. Who’s the AGA now?
Trevor Richards‘ Changeup
Ah, another day, another gorgeous split-change from Trevor Richards. A better camera angle would have shown off just how much devastating left to right movement this pitch gets, but we can tell from the batter’s reaction that he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw this pitch coming at him. I will continue to bang on the drum for Richards’ changeup as one of the nastiest pitches in the league, something it gets zero credit for.
Hayden Wesneski’s Sweeper
Hayden Wesneski came on in relief of Imanaga after his disastrous start. Wesneski allowed an earned run of his own, but he also struck out youngster Mark Vientos with this nasty sweeper that hung in the zone just long enough to fool him.
Grayson Rodriguez‘ Changeup
This nasty changeup from young ace Grayson Rodriguez doesn’t get as much crazy break as the one above by Ryan Pepiot, but it still looks enticing enough to fool Jon Singleton into flailing at it as falls out of the zone. Great pitch, great result.
Ben Joyce’s Fastball
How about 102 MPH at the knees for a called strike three to end the inning? This would have my bowels in a pretzel.
Landon Knack’s Slider
Hello Landon Knack! I was unfamiliar with your work, sir. Knack has received a few call ups for the Dodgers this season, and he earned the start last night, posting five strong innings while only allowing four baserunners. This was one of only two strikeouts on the knight for Knack, and while I’ll spare you of the obvious puns that will surely come over the course of his career, Knack’s slider will certainly miss some bats at this level.
Victor Vodnik’s Fastball
This is not the type of pitch I usually include here, as Victor Vodnik missed his spot pretty badly and we try not to reward that. However, this 98 MPH gas gets a ton of late movement and the way it eats up Nick Senzel is laughable.
Ryne Stanek’s Splitter
Ryne Stanek has a sneaky filthy splitter that a lot of folks either don’t know about or simply overlook. This one explodes out of his hand and immediately takes a turn to the right, fooling Jazz Chisholm Jr. along the way.
Andrew Nardi’s Slider
Speaking of sneaky filthy pitches, Andrew Nardi’s slider is one of those as well. A lesser-known name in the Miami ‘pen, Nardi throws nasty wipeout sliders like they’re going out of style. This one is relatively tame by his standards, but it still fools J.P. Crawford nonetheless.
