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.
Aaron Nola’s Sinker
Another day, another filthy front-door sinker from Aaron Nola. I swear he has one or two of these every outing and every single time it’s nasty as heck.
Hayden Birdsong’s Slider
Hayden Birdsong struck out 11 in a losing effort on Sunday, allowing three runs in 4.1 innings. His slider was nothing short of excellent, earning a 56% CSW on 27 thrown. This gorgeous backdoor offering totally fooled Alec Burleson.
Clarke Schmidt’s Knuckle Curve
The bottom falls out of this knuckle curve from Clarke Schmidt, leaving Oneil Cruz to haplessly whiff over it. Schmidt didn’t exactly stand out on Sunday, but a 44% CSW mark on the pitch over 21 thrown is pretty darn good. He’ll look to meaningfully contribute in the playoffs and hopefully improve in 2025.
Daysbel Hernández’s Slider
I stumbled upon this pitch while looking for something else, and this was too good to pass up. That’s some nice movement and location from Hernandez. He ended up striking out five of the six batters he faced.
Michael McGreevy’s Sinker
If you streamed Michael McGreevy in your fantasy championship, congrats! He had a stellar day, striking out six over eight innings of one-run ball. He doesn’t overpower you with heat, but his movement and location was absolutely good enough to keep the Giants on their toes all day long.
Caleb Kilian’s Cutter
Caleb Kilian turned out to be a nice streaming option on Sunday, striking out four and allowing only five baserunners in five innings of work. It was a nice rebound for the young hurler after his disappointing outing last week, and a great way to end a season. He’ll head into the offseason with some confidence and hope to build on that in his quest to find a reliable third pitch.
David Peterson’s Slider
David Peterson did everything he needed to do in order to keep the Mets in the playoff picture striking out eight and allowing only one hit over seven lights-out innings. It sets up a do-or-die doubleheader with the Braves on Monday, which should be electric television for all. I’m certainly looking forward to it.
Logan Gilbert’s Curveball
The Mariners may have already been eliminated from playoff contention, but Logan Gilbert did not care. He still showed up to pitch, capping off his career year with 5.2 innings of one hit ball, striking out seven along the way. The filthy movement on this curveball had a zero percent chance of getting hit.
Mitch Spence’s Curveball
Mitch Spence is a guy I like a lot. He’s got a Blake Treinen-esque slider, and he showed flashes of potential this season. If he takes the next step in 2025, watch out.
Mark Leiter Jr.’s Splitter
A nasty splitter is hard to beat, and this one from Mark Leiter Jr. makes the cut easily. In a tough spot, Leiter served up his primary out pitch in a tough situation with two men in scoring position, and it worked. After striking out Joshua Palacios with no outs, neither man on base would come around to score. Nice work, Mark.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram