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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Charlie Morton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/ornerydimhamster
Charlie Morton’s flow under the radar this season, but he has been one of the most consequential free agent signings this past offseason. The Braves got an ace on a one-year deal and Morton took his stuff to another level for Game 1 on the NLDS.
Lucas Giolito’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/uniquehealthydolphin
Lucas Giolito was inconsistent yesterday afternoon which is appropriate for what has been an inconsistent 2021 season for Giolito. His changeup is still a visual marvel with tremendous drop that seems to start so late and leaves hitters like Carlos Correa flummoxed.
Corbin Burnes‘ Cutter
https://gfycat.com/indolentlegitimatecuscus
Corbin Burnes is still not a well-known name around the country, but if Burnes can pitch all postseason like he did last night he has the opportunity to raise his Q rating more than a tick or two. Burnes spotted his cutter beautifully on his arm side all game and hitters like Ozzie Albies had a tough time not giving up on the pitch before it slipped back onto the outside corner.
Tanner Houck’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/mindlessslipperyaruanas
Tanner Houck is a tremendous sinker-slider reliever with the stuff to match some of the best closers in the game. Houck’s slider gets so much lateral movement that Wander Franco thinks he’s about to swing at a fat fastball on the inside third and the pitch ends up behind him. Ridiculous.
Brusdar Graterol’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/totalgratefulangora
The torque Brusdar Graterol gets when he turns his body and whips his arm forward is an amazing sight. Graterol’s body moves so fast it’s hard to even catch his mechanics right before release with the naked eye. Graterol spots this sinker at 101 MPH low in a spot few hitters can do damage and certainly not non-hitter Logan Webb.
Framber Valdez’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/frightenednaivehoiho
Framber Valdez got hit around a little bit last night in an uneven performance that did allow him to flash maybe the best curveball in the game. Valdez’s curveball regularly reaches 3,000 RPM, which is elite, and he spots this one perfectly to induce the swinging strikeout from Andrew Vaughn.
Logan Webb’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/cheeryfrigidamericanwarmblood
Logan Webb has the best pitching performance out of all the great pitchers in action yesterday. Webb got through almost eight innings in which he toyed with the Dodgers lineup. Webb relied on his breaking stuff and he commanded both his slider and changeup precisely. This changeup to Trea Turner is spotted perfectly on the outside corner.
Aaron Bummer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/inconsequentialtimelybedlingtonterrier
Aaron Bummer is death to lefties, even great hitters like Michael Brantley. Bummer spots this slider just out of the zone and the slow-motion shot shows how the extra lateral movement brings the pitch away from Brantley’s bat.
Camilo Doval’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/unitedconsideratekrill
Every time I watch the Giants, which is admittedly not more than a handful of games, a new player that either I’ve never heard of or am only vaguely aware of steps up to help the team get a win. Camilo Doval came in to finish out the Dodgers and made Justin Turner look silly with his live fastball that reached triple digits.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)