Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through Spring Training 2021, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous few days’ games in glorious high-definition GIFs. We want to bring you the highest caliber of nastiness possible, so if you see a nasty pitch, please tell us about it. You can tweet @PitcherList to let us know, and we’ll give you a shout-out here in the article if your tip makes the cut.
As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!
Taijuan Walker’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/unpleasantdeadlyhuemul
Taijuan Walker’s spring outing produced a lot of 2s on Tuesday. His final line ended with 2 IP, 2H, 2 R (2ER), 2BB, and 2Ks. On this 2-2 pitch, Walker produced a swing and miss from Matt Carpenter with a nice splitter that continued to run away from Carpenter’s reach. Walker is looking to build off a strong 2020 with the newly revamped Mets.
Genesis Cabrera’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/shyuntriedgecko
Genesis Cabrera limited opposing hitters to a .054 average on his curveball last season, and it’s easy to see why with this big curveball to sit down Pete Alonso. Cabrera was a solid option out of the bullpen for the Cardinals last season, and many of his metrics point to continued success, led by a whiff rate ranking in the 97th percentile of all major leaguers.
Nick Pivetta’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/pitifuluntriedfairyfly
Red Sox pitching gave up 11 runs to the defending AL champion Rays on Tuesday, but Nick Pivetta looked sharp, striking out three in three innings of work. One of those strikeouts came on a nice backdoor curveball to catch Austin Meadows looking.
Kenta Maeda’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/equalunhappyaustraliankelpie
Kenta Maeda produced another strong performance in his second 2021 spring training appearance. He struck out four Orioles in three innings allowing only one hit. Maeda got Trey Mancini to chase a slider out of the zone to pick up his first strikeout of the day.
Garret Crochet’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/demandingimperfectblackwidowspider
Garrett Crochet worked around a couple of walks to throw a scoreless inning on Tuesday. He also showed off this big curveball to freeze Trent Grisham for strike three. Grisham didn’t need to wait for the umpire’s call before heading back to the dugout. This curveball followed up a fastball up and in, so it’s not surprising the pitch froze Grisham.