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.
Bailey Ober’s Changeup
Bailey Ober kicked off Friday afternoon’s doubleheader between the Twins and Guardians with a bang, striking out José Ramírez in a sign of things to come. Ober was dominant in this one, striking out nine while cruising through six innings and only allowing four baserunners. That little hop as he came off the mound should have told everyone that he meant business today.
Bailey Ober’s Slider
That’s not all from Ober. He also slung this gnarly slider in on the hands of, you guessed it, José Ramírez once again.
Joey Cantillo’s Curveball
Ober’s opponent, Joey Cantillo, allowed two earned runs early but settled in rather nicely. The WHIP wasn’t great (eight baserunners in 5.2 innings), but he still came up only one out short of a quality start. This curveball is Max Fried-esque.
Eli Morgan’s Changeup
In relief of Castillo, Eli Morgan cleaned up the 6th inning and continued to finish the seventh. He made matters worse by allowing an earned run, but this changeup is still straight-up filth.
José Berríos‘ Slurve
Enough of the early game, let’s now take a trip up north across the border to check in on José Berríos and his filthy stuff. Yup, still filthy, just as I expected.
Mitch Spence’s Slider
Mitch Spence’s slider reminds me a ton of Blake Treinen’s slider. It has the same super sharp bite to it with both a ton of vertical and horizontal movement. Spence kind of gets lost in the shuffle when folks think of Oakland’s pitching, but I like what I see every time I watch him. He’s gonna be a name a lot of people know sooner than later.
Zack Littell’s Cutter
This pitch is just mean. A nasty cutter up and in on a lefty surely makes Anthony Santander’s life flash before his eyes.
Zach Eflin’s Curveball
In his first start back at the Trop since being traded to Baltimore, Zach Eflin looked right at home. Seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts, allowing only five baserunners in a dazzling start. Eflin’s curveball wasn’t the star of the show – his cutter was, earning a 57% CSW on 30 thrown, but this curveball to José Soriano is downright nasty.
George Soriano’s Slider
I’ve never seen George Soriano pitch before and boy did I like the movement on his slider. That thing has some real bite to it. It takes a lot to make Luis Arraez strike out, and Soriano made it look real easy here.
José Soriano’s Knuckle Curve
Finally, let’s finish this off with another Soriano, this time José Soriano. In his 19th career start, Soriano struck down the Nationals to the tune of seven strikeouts in six innings. The knuckle curve was cooking, earning a ridiculous 48% CSW on 23 thrown. The sinker had a ton of movement on it as well, and he straight-up looked like a stud. He still needs a reliable third pitch, but those first two are legit.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram