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.
Kyle Gibson’s Changeup
We will kick things off with this Kyle Gibson changeup that sent Kerry Carpenter spinning. This early game between the Cardinals and Tigers was a textbook Pitcher’s Duel with both Gibson and Jack Flaherty recording nine and 14 strikeouts, respectively.
Freddy Peralta’s Slider
Before Peralta was ejected for plunking Jose Siri, he racked up seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings. Here he gets Harold Ramírez to take an ugly hack on a pitch that slides right across the plate. Peralta throws his slider 30.7% of the time, second only to his fastball at 52.2%. He is also leading all qualified starters in K% at 34.1%.
Cole Ragans‘ Slider
I get major Cole Hamels vibes whenever I watch Cole Ragans pitch. The lefty racked nine punch outs and surrendered just four hits over 6.2 innings against Toronto in this one. Ragans is up to 15th in strikeout rate on the year at 28.9%.
Matthew Liberatore’s Curveball
This pitch is so satisfying to watch for some reason. The ball drops right into the middle of the plate but causes Riley Greene to take a big empty cut that hits nothing but air. Greene made up for it by hitting a homer in each game of yesterday’s double header though. Liberatore picked up the win here to bring his record to 1-1 on the year.
Jack Flaherty’s Knuckle Curve
Jack Flaherty was the most dominant pitcher yesterday. He tied an American League record by striking out the first seven batters in this game. He totaled 14 punchouts in less than seven innings. He is the fifth pitcher in MLB history to tally at least 14 strikeouts and allow no runs in less than seven innings, joining Max Scherzer, Yu Darvish, Mike Fiers, and Shane Bieber on that list. He is now second in K% on the year at 34%.
Michael Soroka’s Sinker
The White Sox are starting to heat up a bit after a brutal start to the year. Soroka hasn’t looked super sharp this season and only went 4.1 innings in this one, but this sinker to Ryan Jeffers was nasty. We also have a mini stare-down from Jeffers in this one.
Jon Gray’s Slider
Gray recorded just three K’s in this start against the Nats, but the righty went eight frames and gave up just one run. Washington is a weak-hitting team but doesn’t strike out all that much. They are ranked in the bottom ten at 21.2%. Gray is a heavy slider pitcher, throwing the pitch a whopping 46.8% of the time this year.
Jhoan Duran’s Curveball
Duran is back. The Nastiest Pitchers series just got a lot more fun. This one wasn’t his signature heater but instead a curveball at 88 mph to secure the win for Minnesota. Duran averages the third-highest velocity on his curveball at 87.4 mph. He also has the best hop-skip in the league after every strikeout.
Mason Miller’s Fastball
It wouldn’t be a Nastiest Pitchest article in 2024 without a Medieval Mason Miller appearance. I saw Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) call him that and I have decided that is his new name. Here we see him blow past Jared Triolo with a 102 mph fastball as part of his ninth-inning save against the Pirates.
Reynaldo López’s Slider
We will finish it off with a nasty slider from Reynaldo López against Mitch Garver. Garver may have walked it off the night before, but this pitch sent him walking back to the dugout. Lopez finished the game with seven strikeouts but gave up three runs in a loss to Seattle. The righty has been having a stellar season overall, ranking 23rd in strikeout rate at 27%.