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.
Lance Lynn’s Slider
Hey look, he’s not the same guy he was with the White Sox a couple of years ago but every once in a while the big fella can make someone look silly. In this case, Bryan Reynolds might as well have been swinging a garden hose for Lynn’s first strikeout of the afternoon.
Ryan Fernandez’s Slider
Unless you are a Cards fan chances are you might not know who Ryan Fernandez is. A Rule 5 selection by the Cards this past December, Fernandez was first drafted by the Red Sox back in 2018. He has done yeoman’s work this season including yesterday with three punchouts in the eighth that helped clear the way for Andrew Kittredge’s first save of the year. This guy has got one doozy of a slider.
Taj Bradley’s Splitter
It might be safe to say this isn’t the swing that put Cody Bellinger back on the map last year. Taj Bradley’s splitter was phenomenal, returning nine whiffs on 20 swings during yesterday’s pitching duel with Justin Steele.
Alec Marsh’s Sinker
Marsh didn’t get the win but was the pitcher of record when he left holding a 2-0 lead over the Yankees through seven. This perfect sinker featured some nasty arm-side movement, pegging the outer edge and obliterating Anthony Volpe for Marsh’s fifth strikeout.
Tanner Houck’s Splitter
Tanner Houck didn’t have an eye-popping line (10 whiffs on 94 pitches) but this deftly located splitter for a called third strike was divine. Plus, the post-mortem was fantastic. Garrett Stubbs‘ agony is palpable and check out the pose from home plate umpire Alex MacKay. Someone’s been practicing their Tai Chi.
Orion Kerkering’s Slider
Masataka Yoshida recently returned from the IL and Orion Kerkering swept him out the door stage-left with his signature sweeper. Kerkering began the year on the IL but has since returned giving the Phillies another big weapon in their pen. However, he later allowed an RBI double to Enmanuel Valdez allowing his first earned run since…May 18th.
Jacob Webb’s Changeup
Webb’s changeup is certified nasty featuring 19 inches of arm-side break and has held hitters to a .097 batting average and .192 xwOBA. Jarred Kelenic found out the hard way.
Garrett Crochet’s Fastball
Woah, what a night for Crochet. 24 whiffs on 48 swings. Pure dominance. This fastball put Julio Rodríguez in a 0-2 hole after Crochet struck out the first two batters. However, Rodríguez denied Crochet the pleasure of striking out the side by grounding out to third.
Garrett Crochet’s Cutter
A second one from Crochet because well, how could we resist? With one down in the sixth and the tying and go-ahead runners aboard (both walks), Crochet dug deep with a hard cutter that tied up Julio Rodríguez for his 11th strikeout.
Brandon Pfaadt’s Sweeper
Pfaadt turned in a solid effort, holding the Angels to one run on six hits across six innings in a blowout 11-1 D-Backs win. Taylor Ward was no match for this sweeper, going down as Pfaadt’s fifth punchout of the night. Hopefully, you can find someone who loves you as much as PLV has loved Pfaadt’s sweeper this year (5.63 PLV/ 1.54 PLA).