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.
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Lance McCullers Jr.’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/firmobviouschimpanzee
Lance McCullers Jr. is an impressive pitcher who has two breaking balls that he uses to finish hitters while making them look foolish. I could have chosen a knuckle-curve from McCullers Jr., but this slider has such aesthetically pleasing lateral movement presented clearly by the camera placement/angle.
Jharel Cotton’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/obedientoddballhedgehog
Jharel Cotton is a former top prospect trying to establish himself in the majors this season with the lowly Texas Rangers. Cotton’s changeup seems to have a corkscrew-like spin and is still the great pitch it was when Cotton was on top prospect lists.
Carlos Carrasco’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/admiredthreadbaregallowaycow
Carlos Carrasco got lit up by the Dodgers in his previous start but he was able to hold the Dodgers formidable lineup to three runs in five innings. Carrasco spots this sinker perfectly on the inside corner to catch Max Muncy looking.
Max Fried’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/mediocrequerulousarchaeocete
Max Fried shutout the Orioles last night using his precise command to flummox the Orioles hitters. Fried didn’t have to use his curveball much but broke a couple of great ones to get two of his four strikeouts.
Liam Hendriks‘ Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/defensiveimpracticaldromedary
Liam Hendriks seems to have optimized his high-powered fastball as well as anyone to get hitters to swing under the pitch thrown at the top of the zone. Wander Franco isn’t close to making contact at this one.
Sonny Gray’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/mindlessgreedybarnacle
Sonny Gray is like Rodney Dangerfield. He can’t get no respect. That’s a bad joke, but I seem to feature Sonny Gray every week and am surprised he doesn’t get more attention for his ability to finish hitters at an elite rate for a starting pitcher.
Hirokazu Sawamura’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/vengefulleadingcentipede
Hirokazu Sawamura is a one-pitch reliever but that one pitch is so good that Sawamura doesn’t need much else to get hitters to swing and miss. Sawamura throws a hard splitter at ninety-five MPH that drops sharply out of the zone as Adolis García can attest.
Yimi García’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/unsungannualicelandicsheepdog
I had forgotten that Yimi García made his way to Houston through the fury of action before the trade deadline. García gets great sweeping action on this curveball to the lefty Jarred Kelenic who had another tough night.
Walker Buehler’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/uniformflamboyantbaldeagle
Buehler’s changeup isn’t much slower than his two fastballs but he throws the changeup with the same arm action and he gets a good amount of downward break on the pitch considering the velocity. Jonathan Villar swung through the changeup twice and I chose this one over the other because it’s spotted perfectly at the bottom of the zone.
Garrett Crochet’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/adorablepooricterinewarbler
Garrett Crochet is now the fourth option at best in the White Sox bullpen after the additions of Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera at the trade deadline. Crochet has the stuff to close games eventually and will go as far as his control and command take him. I feel bad for left-handed hitters like Kevin Kiermaier who have to face Crochet and his top-shelf slider.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)