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.
Charlie Morton’s Curveball
Much of Morton’s career success can be attributed to his curveball. This year he is throwing it 40% of the time, which is 99th percentile. It’s still a good one. The 16.4% Swinging Strike% is 83rd percentile and it gets 13.8″ of iHB (85th percentile).
Luis Medina’s Curveball
Medina is not known for his curveball, but this is a sharp one. He only throws it 12% and PLV grades it as 9th percentile.
Freddy Peralta’s Fastball
Peralta gets a decent 16.3″ iVB (70th percentile) and an excellent 1.6 HAVAA (96th percentile). This one explodes up in the zone and the batter chases it. Peralta continues to be one of the better pitchers in baseball.
Simeon Woods Richardson’s Slider
Richardson gets a lot of movement on his slider. It has 69th percentile iHB and 96th percentile iVB. He doesn’t strike out many guys, but he’s off to a good start with a 2.70 ERA and 1.10 WHIP.
Luis Castillo’s Changeup
Castillo continues to be one of the best starting pitchers in baseball and he has great stuff. His changeup averages nearly 13″ of iHB (93rd percentile). If he’s pitching, there’s a good chance he’ll be on Nastiest Pitches.
Jhoan Duran’s Curveball
Duran’s curveball gets overlooked because of his fastball and splitter, but it’s also pretty good. He throws it 26% of the time and, of course, it has 92nd percentile velo, coming in at 86.2 mph. It still manages 70th percentile iVB. Frankly, I’m surprised he doesn’t throw it harder.
Jhoan Duran’s Splitter
This is a painted 98 mph splitter. Or splinker. Or whatever he calls it. He uses it to generate 87th percentile Called Strike rate. It has 91st percentile Zone%. It has also allowed just a 16.7% ICR (96th percentile).
Griffin Jax’s Sweeper
Jax has become one of the best relievers in baseball and his sweeper is a big reason why. He throws it very hard at 89.1 mph (99th percentile). Both the CSW% and PLV are 87th percentile.
Camilo Doval’s Cutter
Doval got crushed in this one, but the Yankees are doing that to a lot of guys now. Doval’s cutter gets 88th percentile iVB and it averages 99.6 mph. It’s gotten OK outcomes this year, but I’m surprised it hasn’t been more dominant.
Trevor Richards‘ Changeup
I’m not sure what any batter is supposed to do with this. It had the drop of like a 50 mph knuckleball but was actually thrown at 79 mph. I love these nasty changeups from Richards.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram