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.
Nick Pivetta’s Sweeper
The Sox pen lost the 2-0 lead in the eighth, washing away Pivetta’s chance at claiming a well-deserved win after holding the Marlins scoreless across seven. His sweeper induced six whiffs on 12 swings, including this beauty to Jake Burger in the second.
Jameson Taillon’s Sweeper
Alec Bohm is striking out at a career-low 13.4% so you know the pitcher is doing something pretty good when he whiffs. Taillon demonstrated sublime glove-side command with this nasty sweeper in his first meeting with Bohm.
Cristopher Sánchez’s Changeup
Does it get any more Fourth of July than an afternoon ballgame at Wrigley Field? Plenty of red, white, and blue between the teams too. The only thing missing was Ray Charles’ America the Beautiful. Cristopher Sánchez was spotted a 1-0 lead in the fourth but the Cubs roughed him up in the home half of the inning. Still, his changeup always deserves some love.
Bryce Miller’s Splitter
The splitter has given Bryce Miller a new wrinkle in year two. It hasn’t stood out as a whole much in terms of whiffs with a 45th percentile SwStr%. Still, it’s had some flashes. Cedric Mullins saw an especially filthy splitter in the second inning as Miller’s second K victim of the afternoon.
Corbin Burnes‘ Cutter
Corbin Burnes was up to his usual on the other side of the game at T-Mobile, tossing cutters aplenty. Cal Raleigh was his sixth and final K victim on this picture-perfect cutter. James McCann didn’t even have to move his mitt.
Lucas Erceg’s Slider
Unless you’re in a holds league or are an A’s fan, you might not know Erceg. He’s got a bright-red player page, pairing high-octane gas with whatever you’d like to call this thing: slider, slurve, curve. It’s been near unhittable, holding enemy batters to a .065 xwOBA. A’s fans don’t have much to hang their hats on, but he and Mason Miller are a pretty fun duo in the back of the pen.
Bailey Ober’s Changeup
Bailey Ober had himself a day with eight K’s while holding the Tigers to one run on seven hits across six innings. He totaled 22 whiffs, 11 coming on the changeup (on 29 swings). Thanks to good location and top-of-the-line extension, Ober’s change has earned a stellar 5.97 PLV (not including this game).
Zac Gallen’s Knuckle Curve
Gallen only lasted four innings but left with the lead, fanning Shohei Ohtani with the tying run aboard. The at-bat started with Ohtani looking out of sorts trying to golf a nasty noes-to-toes hook.
Justin Martínez’s Two-Seam Fastball
Justin Martinez had a brief cameo last year with the D-backs, getting the call on July 7th eventually making ten appearances. Walks remain a little bit of an issue a year later. Still, his upside is undeniable. He’s averaged 100.1 mph with the heater this year through 34 innings. Meanwhile, his slider and splitter have returned SwStr% rates over 20%. This 99 mph heat-seeking missile had Teoscar Hernández tied up in a bow. Mr. Martinez, you have my attention.
Justin Martínez’s Splitter
Teoscar Hernández scratched a single off Martínez in their first encounter on a 100.5 mph sinker, the pitch after the previous one. However, Martínez found vengeance in the seventh with this ridiculous splitter for his fifth K. He’s a bad man.