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.
Chris Bassit’s Splitter
We kick things off with an 83 mph splitter from Chris Bassit. The movement on this pitch fooled Jorge Polanco and caused him to swing at a pitch just outside the zone. This was one of eight strikeouts for Bassit, who secured his first win of the season against the Mariners in this contest.
Brayan Bello’s Changeup
Opening Day at Fenway saw some nasty pitching from both sides of this game. This masterful changeup from Brayan Bello cuts right at the last moment to fool Tony Kemp. Bello throws his changeup 24 percent of the time, only second to his sinker at 36.4 percent.
Corbin Burnes‘ Cutter
On the other side of that game, Orioles’ ace Corbin Burnes struck out six batters over seven innings in his start here, only giving up one run on a solo shot to Tyler O’Neill. O’Neill didn’t fare too well in the at-bat depicted above, however. Burnes catches the bottom of the zone with this 95 mph cutter.
Tyler Glasnow’s Slider
Glasnow was masterful in this one. The first-year Dodger struck out 14 Twins over seven innings and improved his record to 3-0 on the year. There were plenty of pitches to pick from, but this signature slider to Byron Buxton was quite nasty.
Michael Kopech’s Fastball
Michael Kopech throws very hard. Estevan Florial was very late on this pitch, but 102 is going to force a lot of guys to miss. Wins may not come that easy this year for the White Sox, but Kopech can certainly do some damage now that he’s been moved to the bullpen.
Carlos Rodón’s Fastball
It looked like this pitch’s gravity pulled Luis Arraez to one knee. Striking him out is worthy of a GIF itself, as he did so a minuscule 5.5 percent of the time last year. This was one of six punch outs for Rodon, who secured a win in a hitless start versus Miami.
Sonny Gray’s Sweeper
Sonny Gray got J.T. Realmuto to chase outside the zone here on a nasty sweeper. Five was Gray’s lucky number in this one. He went five innings, surrendered five hits, and struck out five Phillies. This was also his 50th pitch for what it’s worth.
Ben Brown’s Knuckle Curve
The rookie Ben Brown has improved in each start since making his major league debut on March 30th. He only went four innings four the second start in a row, but he matched his career high of five strikeouts, including this nasty knuckle curve to Jake Cronenworth.
Ryan Helsley’s Fastball
Ryan Helsley blows right by Bryson Stott with a 101 mph heater. His shutout inning in the ninth here was an improvement on yesterday’s start, where he gave up a solo homer to Brandon Marsh in the top of the ninth.
Joe Musgrove’s Curveball
We close out yesterday’s nastiest pitches with a curveball from Joe Musgrove that forces Cody Bellinger to take a big cut and a miss. It wasn’t a pretty overall start for Musgrove, who gave up four earned runs, but the Padres’ arm still had his curveball working.