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.
Blake Snell’s Fastball
Blake Snell struck out ten in what was just his latest dominant outing on this ridiculous run he’s currently on. The A’s haven’t been a pushover by any means this year, but Snell made them look like a AAA team located in Sacramento or something (that’s just the first city that came to mind). I would not want to be an opposing hitter and have to hit against Mr. Snell these days.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
The Cooperstown Curveball continues to mystify hitters old and new. With so many injuries piling up for Clayton Kershaw in recent years, you have to appreciate this pitch anytime you get the chance. You never know when you’ll see the last one.
Framber Valdez’s Curveball
It may be unfair to compare Framber Valdez to Kershaw, but Valdez is a pretty darn good pitcher in his own right. He struck out nine on Sunday, easily cruising past the White Sox in Houston.
Kutter Crawford’s Kutter
I was watching this game with some family today and I predicted that Gunnar Henderson would take Kutter Crawford deep on this pitch. Instead, I was the one with egg on my face as Crawford threw a filthy cutter down and in that was completely unhittable. Gunnar made up for it with a bomb in a later at-bat, but by then Kutter was out of the game.
Yennier Cano’s Changeup
It feels like we haven’t seen elite changeups out of Yennier Cano this year nearly as often as we did last season, and it hasn’t been as effective of a strike getter (21.5% CSW vs 25.9% CSW in 2023). That doesn’t matter here, as Mickey Gasper swung right over this one.
Seranthony Domínguez’s Slider
I typically try to stay away from pitches in the dirt, but this slider from Seranthony Domínguez had so much movement that I couldn’t help myself. Seriously, this thing put Triston Casas into a pickle.
George Kirby’s Knuckle Curve
Talk about a ton of movement, this pitch from George Kirby starts in Philadelphia and ends up in Pittsburgh. That’s some crazy movement. And no, I know nothing about the geography of Pennsylvania so if that sentence made no sense then feel free to call me out on it. It still shouldn’t take away from just how nasty of a pitch this was.
Ben Lively’s Changeup
This changeup starts in Milwaukee and ends… just kidding, I’m not gonna try that again. I love a changeup that completely falls off the plate at the last moment like this one does. Ben Lively may not have elite velocity, but his secondaries are Borat voice VERY NICE.
Ky Bush’s Slider
This was my first time watching Ky Bush pitch and I have to say I liked what I saw. His secondaries have a ton of movement, which helps make up for his lack of velocity on the fastball. Averaging 91.2 MPH and maxing out at 93.5 MPH, Bush will need his secondaries to work if he’s going to have success at this level and I think he’s got a shot. That slider is legit.
Charlie Morton’s Sinker
We finish today’s Nastiest Pitches off with a front door sinker from Charlie Morton, because why not? Niko Kavadas gave up on this pitch too early and he was punished for it.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram