Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games. If you see something you think should be included here be sure to tweet @PitcherList to let us know. Or, if you’re a PL+ Member and part of our Discord, shout it out in the Nastiest Pitches channel.
Kyle Gibson’s Sweeper
This is a great example of what Gibson’s sweeper has been doing all year. Its Total Break and velocity are poor, but he’s done an excellent job commanding it down and away to RHBs.
This has resulted in a 91st percentile O-Swing% and 96th percentile Swinging Strike%.
Jordan Wicks‘ Changeup
This changeup is actually very similar to Gibson’s sweeper. How? Well, it also has poor stuff metrics, but he does an excellent job locating it to RHBs. This one seems to start outside the zone, before entering it, and then dropping out the bottom. Must be very confusing for a hitter. I’ll spare you another strike zone plot, but it looks very similar to Gibson’s sweeper. Its placement has resulted in 93rd percentile O-Swing% and 99th percentile Swinging Strike%. Of course, Wicks hasn’t thrown many innings, but it still looks like a good pitch.
Colten Brewer’s Curveball
Brewer threw several curves I considered including, but I went with this one. The 15″ of iHB made the young Herrera look silly.
Ryan Helsley’s Slider
The biggest strength of Helsley’s slider is velocity, both on it and his four-seamer. The 89 mph on it is the 92nd percentile for a reliever and it generates 93rd percentile O-Swing% and 97th percentile Swinging Strike%.
Kyle Bradish’s Sinker
99 mph with that kind of horizontal movement placed there? The batter doesn’t stand a chance on this one. It has 87th percentile CSW% and 99th percentile ICR. That’s a good combination.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
Gausman’s splitter isn’t what it used to be, but it’s still a great pitch. It must be to get a great hitter like José Ramírez to chase.
Chris Sale’s Slider
Sale makes my job easy. Looking for a nasty pitch? Just look for Sale’s slider. It’s allowed an 87th percentile wOBA, has a 93rd percentile O-Swing%, 88th percentile Swinging Strike%, 95th percentile CSW%, and 80th percentile ICR. It’s a big reason Sale is back to his old form. Let’s just hope that someone making $24 million/year to play a game isn’t forced to wear a pair of pants he doesn’t like.
MacKenzie Gore’s Slider
Burger’s not known for his hit tool, but this is a nasty slider from Gore. Gore is in the midst of a breakout. If he can throw his slider in the zone more often he’d be even better. It has just a 28.1% Zone% (9th percentile). It has 99th percentile velo and still maintains 98th percentile iVB. The improved command of it will come.
Shaun Anderson’s Sweeper
Anderson has thrown so few innings it’s tough to judge the sweeper, but this one is really sharp and well-placed. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be a good sweeper for him consistently, this one was certainly effective.
Mason Miller’s Fastball
Just because he throws these every outing doesn’t mean they aren’t less impressive. Enjoy them while we have them!
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram