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.
Tony Santillan’s Slider
I’m not sure what Keibert Ruiz was swinging at here, but had he even made contact I don’t know where that ball would have even ended up. Probably in the on deck circle. This is as ugly a swing as you’ll ever see.
Adam Ottavino’s Sinker
It’s hard to believe that Pitcher List has been in the pitch GIF game for over 10 years at this point, and over the years I’d argue Adam Ottavino is one of the most GIFed pitchers on this site. He and Noah Syndergaard are two of the guys who got me hooked on Pitcher List and pitch GIFs in general. So it is always a wonderful day when we can sneak in a gorgeous pitch from Ottavino, this time a backdoor sinker that hugs the corner of the zone to perfection.
Chris Bassitt’s Sinker
Another sinker, this time of the front door variety. It’s always nice to see a batter flinch at pitches like this before getting completely fooled by it as it whizzes past him for a backward K. It’s almost like the batters just never learn.
Frankie Montas‘ Splitter
Everything about Frankie Montas‘ outing on Friday was bad… seven earned runs, three walks, two home runs, but this pitch is as nasty as it gets and that, my friends, is all we ever ask for out of a pitcher.
Hayden Wesneski’s Sweeper
This ball was never even close to the zone, but that didn’t stop Gabriel Moreno from taking a whack at it.
Jack Flaherty’s Fastball
Nasty isn’t always about the movement. Sometimes it’s just about hitting your spot in a 3-2 count to get out of an inning during a random game in July. This is simply perfect pitch execution from Jack Flaherty, who was all but written off by many as recently as this past offseason. Boy, has he redeemed himself in a big way.
Jesús Tinoco’s Sinker
This pitch absolutely explodes out of the arm of Jesús Tinoco, who was just promoted to the MLB roster by the Cubs on Friday morning after bouncing between the Rangers and Royals earlier in the season. It’s not the near-triple-digit elite velocity we usually feature here, but it looks a lot faster than it really is.
Michael Wacha’s Changeup
It still baffles me that Michael Wacha has bounced around three teams in the last three years. He’s been spectacular, making 63 starts since 2022, pitching to a 3.34 ERA during that span. He’s not an elite strikeout guy, but that changeup is as good of a pitch as you’ll see in all of baseball. The Royals are lucky to have him.
Nick Pivetta’s Curveball
Nick Pivetta spun a gem against the mighty Dodgers, striking out eight in six strong frames. Unfortunately, the Zack Kelly–Brennan Bernardino combo blew it for Boston, and Pivetta was forced to walk away with a no decision. This curveball to Gavin Lux is an absolute thing of beauty.
Luis Castillo’s Changeup
That is the Luis Castillo of old right there. The changeup was his calling card when he first burst onto the scene with the Reds, but lately it’s been his sinker-slider combo that has been doing much of the damage. It’s great to see Castillo rolling with the changeup again, as it feels like he’s been missing a reliable third pitch for a while.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram