Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s 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!
Patrick Weigel’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/deepelaboratelangur
Wow. Patrick Weigel is in the second year of his young career and he’s already making a name for himself around these parts. The success isn’t quite there yet, as he allowed two earned runs in his appearance on Friday night, but there is no doubt that he has something there in that slider. That’s a beauty.
Trevor Cahill’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/politicalpeskyhyrax
Trevor Cahill has always been the kind of guy who has the stuff to pitch well but isn’t always quite able to put it all together on a consistent basis. Cahill had a 23% CSW% on the night overall, which isn’t great, but he did limit the Cubs to three runs over five innings so he at least gave them a chance to win. When I see this changeup to Willson Contreras, all I can think is “What if?” (H/t to PL+ members Burial and AnOldOldWoodenShippy)
Miguel Castro’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/astonishingspiritedkilldeer
Friday night’s Mets-Diamondbacks game was a wild and entertaining game that was an enjoyable watch for someone who didn’t have any skin in the game. I was passively keeping an eye on it in the background for most of the later innings, but my ears perked up when I heard that Miguel Castro was coming into the game. This guy is filthy, and here’s yet another example of one of his filthy sliders to get out of a sticky situation in the eighth inning.
Anthony DeSclafani’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/remotesillydragonfly
One of our favorites around these parts, Anthony DeSclafani, did just enough to keep his team in the game against a very good Padres’ offense. This backdoor sinker to catch Wil Myers looking in the first inning was as nasty as it gets.
Zach Plesac’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/hiddenperiodicafricanmolesnake
Hats off to Zach Plesac, who hung in there for eight scoreless innings on a night when his opponent on the bump threw a No-Hitter. It couldn’t have been easy to keep his foot on the gas for as long as he did while watching Wade Miley mowing down Cleveland hitters all night, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes. If you drafted Plesac this year you were still very happy with this performance regardless of the end result of the game.
Hirokazu Sawamura’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/giantvictoriousjavalina
This splitter from Hirokazu Sawamura almost looks like it gets some screwball movement in it. While we know he doesn’t throw a screwball, what he does with his splitter is nothing short of miraculous, clocking in at a cool 93 MPH with a ton of drop. Boy, is he fun to watch or what?
Aaron Bummer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/darlinginsignificantitaliangreyhound
Lefty sliders that cut across the zone are such difficult pitches to hit, and Aaron Bummer has seemingly mastered the art of them. This one to get a wild whiff out of Nicky Lopez was straight up mean.
Phil Maton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/splendidneighboringgartersnake
Phil Maton came in on relief of Emmanuel Clase, who imploded en route to the loss, and pitched very well to get out of a pickle at the end of this one. This gorgeous curveball had no chance of getting hit.
Carlos Rodon’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/harshidealacouchi
Carlos Rodon is absolutely dealing so far this year, finally living up to the expectations that the South Side laid upon him when he was drafted third overall back in 2014. It’s a wonderful story, but I’d be willing to bet that Jorge Soler isn’t very entertained by it after this pitch on Friday night.
Wade Miley’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/clutteredfirstgalapagossealion
Unwritten rules are often lame, but there’s an unwritten rule that I do like: If you throw a No-Hitter, you’re being included in Nastiest Pitches. I wouldn’t call Wade Miley’s outing on Friday night nasty; It was more efficient and pinpoint than nasty, but it was effective. This backdoor changeup on the corner was located perfectly. I would also like to point out that all four No-Hitters have come on nights that I have done nastiest pitches, so expect another one on Monday night. (H/t PL+ member Ben Bingham)
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)