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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Dylan Cease’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/complicatedclosedamericanriverotter
Dylan Cease has shown flashes in the past, and while the young righty still allows a few too many free passes, 2022 appears to be the year he takes the next step. He has been absolutely dominant in the season’s first few months with a K rate north of 30%. He struck out another eleven on Tuesday, all on sliders, like this one to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Roansy Contreras‘ Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/terriblejoyousgermanspaniel
Roansy Contreras, like his new teammate Oneil Cruz, is part of the Pirates’ youth movement that has begun to make its way to the big leagues. Contreras has not worked deep into games as the Pirates monitor his innings, but it’s easy to see why the team is excited about his arrival, evidenced by this easy 97 MPH heater to Alfonso Rivas.
Jimmy Yacabonis‘ Sinker
https://gfycat.com/yawningflusteredcolt
Jimmy Yacabonis was the first Marlins’ reliever out of the pen on Tuesday and tallied a trio of strikeouts in an inning and two-thirds. All three came on two-seamers in nearly identical spots as the arm side run on the pitch brought it just back over the plate.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/poshpiercingchanticleer
There’s not much to say about Kevin Gausman’s splitter at this point. It’s filthy and a virtual lock to appear on Nastiest Pitches every fifth day. There were a number of worthy splitters to appear here, but this one to Luis Robert may have been his best of the night.
Jordan Lyles‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/bewitchedmistydormouse
Journeyman Jordan Lyles finds himself in Baltimore for the 2022 season; his seventh team in his twelve-year career. Not known as a strikeout pitcher, Lyles picked up four Ks in his six innings on Tuesday including this punchout of Luis Garcia on a fantastic changeup.
Lucas Luetge’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/lazyharshcapybara
The Rays were finally able to take down the red-hot Yankees on Tuesday, though the Bronx Bombers nearly mounted a ninth-inning comeback. Reliever Lucas Luetge did his best to keep the score close, tossing a scoreless inning while picking up a pair of strikeouts. He got Randy Arozarena swinging on a big breaker down and out of the zone.
Jhoan Duran’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/adorablefaraustraliankestrel
Jhoan Duran’s fastball averages 101 MHP so it’s understandable that Richie Palacios literally threw his bat at the ball when Duran decided to drop this nasty curveball on him. Hitters are currently hitting .080 against the pitch.
Aaron Civale’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/lankymammothafricanmolesnake
Tuesday marked Aaron Civale’s return from a month-long injury hiatus. Civale and the Guardians traveled to Minnesota to take on the division-rival Twins and attempt to take over first place in the division. Civale ended the evening with seven Ks including this one on a great breaking ball to Gilberto Celestino.
Zac Gallen’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/parallelantiquedolphin
Zac Gallen dominated the Padres’ lineup Tuesday evening racking up eleven strikeouts over his six innings of work. Gallen picked up Ks on three different pitches, and he put away Jorge Alfaro on this disappearing changeup in the third.
Bryan Abreu’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/optimalilliteratecarp
Bryan Abreu had a long battle with J.D. Davis including six foul balls, but the Astro finally put away Davis with a filthy sweeping slider. Abreu picked up whiffs on five of the nine sliders he threw Tuesday and has an impressive 46% whiff rate on the pitch over the course of 2022.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)