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!
Corey Kluber’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/happyshockingiridescentshark
This GIF is just as much about Corey Kluber’s filthy curveball as it is about Pat Valaika’s comical bat flip routine after getting embarassed on this pitch. It wasn’t the sharpest outing of Kluber’s season, but he still earned the win and he seems to be getting on track now after his disastrous April.
José Alvarado’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/beautifulrewardingcero
Woof. This banana sinker shot out of José Alvarado’s arm like a cannonball and there was nothing that Marcus Semien could do about it. The sinker has been a devastating pitch for Alvarado this year, registering an XBA of .193 and a Whiff% of 30.1%. Nasty, nasty stuff.
David Peterson’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/unsungmenacingleopard
This slider from David Peterson to strike out World Series hero Brett Phillips got him out of a huge jam early in the game, and he wore his emotions on his sleeve afterwards. Peterson had a 38% CSW on the night thanks in large part to his… fastball. A 24/48 CSW on the heater helped set up the slider to generate six whiffs on the night, and this was the loudest of the bunch. Peterson is a lot of fun to watch on the mound. (H/t PL+ member nvita)
Caleb Thielbar’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/merryshinybellfrog
Meat Raffle came in on relief in the 9th inning on Friday night and dropped this gorgeous curveball to get Sean Murphy for the strikeout. Thielbar gets above average movement across the board with this pitch and when it’s on it’s one of the more devastating curveballs around. The rest of his offerings could use a little polish, but after being out of the game entirely for a year, I’m sure he’s just happy to be back in the majors and slinging nasty breaking stuff like this.
Blake Treinen’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/coldagitatedgharial
This is just getting silly. If you haven’t heard already, Blake Treinen has added ten inches of break on his slider this season and the results have been nothing short of spectacular: .043 BA, .132 xWOBA, 50% Whiff% and a 34.1% PutAway%. Oh, and it seems like every single one has been featured in nastiest pitches. I think it may be time for a GIF overlay…
Zack Greinke’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/freespotlessinvisiblerail
What’s a Zack Greinke start without a ridiculously slow curveball? This one hung up in the air for what felt like forever. Willie Calhoun thought he could hit this ball to the moon, but he was surely mistaken.
Aaron Bummer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/fastunkempthoiho
Aaron Bummer’s slider is one of the nastiest pitches on the South Side, and that’s saying something considering that bullpen consists of guys like Codi Heuer and Garrett Crochet. He used this one to strike out Jorge Soler, and it worked to perfection.
Kendall Graveman’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/dimquarterlycheetah
It was a quiet night on the heater front, as this is only the second non-breaking ball we’ve got for you today. Kendall Graveman threw this nasty sinker right past Josh Naylor, and it broke just enough to clip the edge of the plate as it whizzed by. In the words of the great Borat Sagdiyev, “Very nice.”
Adam Ottavino’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/delayedpastafricanrockpython
Adam Ottavino has not pitched up to his own standards in his first season in Boston, but there is still plenty of time to turn it around. He still has his trademarked filthy slider in his arsenal, as David Fletcher found out on Friday night, and is still throwing mid-90s on the gun. The Red Sox have some wiggle room for him to figure things out before the playoffs roll around.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/temptingeverlastingharrier
We wrap things up here with one of the best pitches in the history of baseball, Clayton Kershaw’s curve. There was no slo-mo to go along with this one, but I could still sit here watching it on loop forever.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)