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.
Matt Waldron’s Knuckleball
Waldron’s knuckleball was dancing all over San Diego last night. The 27-year-old struck out eight Marlins over seven innings with his signature pitch. Over his previous four starts, Waldron has struck out 31 batters while surrendering just five runs. He got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to strikeout twice including this nasty knuckleball that floated 83 mph right beneath the strike zone.
Zack Wheeler’s Splitter
Wheeler remains one of the best pitchers in the league with another strong start against the Giants in San Fransisco. The right-hander struck out nine in a six-inning shutout. Wheeler has been throwing his splitter 9.6% of the time this season and averages 85.9 mph on the pitch.
Jake Irvin’s Curveball
Don’t worry guys, I watched the full clip and that bat landed in the Nationals’ dugout leaving everyone unharmed. Anyways, Jake Irvin looked incredibly sharp in a tough matchup against Atlanta. He recorded a season-high ten strikeouts over six shutout innings versus the Acuña-less Braves. However, Irvin has just a 21.4% strikeout rate on the season, so I wouldn’t expect double-digit strikeouts to be the norm.
Zack Littell’s Splitter
Zack Littell gets Max Schuemann to punch out on an 83 mph splitter that drops below the plate. Littell had his best outing of the season against the strikeout-happy Athletics. Littell’s ERA has dropped to 3.03 and carries a 24.5% K-rate through ten starts this year.
Mason Miller’s Fastball
Medieval Mason Miller is back. The flamethrower has bounced back nicely from his uncharacteristically poor appearance against the Rockies where he gave up three earned runs. Over his last two outings, he has struck out five batters. The right-hander’s K/9 still sits at a whopping 17.63 but his FIP is now on the positive side of zero at 0.09.
Freddy Peralta’s Slider
Peralta had his fastball and slider working last night. Of his eleven strikeouts, eight were on his fastball and three were from sliders, including this one to Seiya Suzuki. Peralta has the fourth-highest K% amongst starters this season at 32.5%. His xFIP is also 13th-best at just 3.12.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
Gausman has arguably had the best baseball splitter over the last several years. He tosses a nasty one here to get Nicky Lopez to half-swing for strike three. This was one of three punchouts for the 33-year-old, who has dropped his xFIP to 3.24 after a slow start to the season.
Tyler Glasnow’s Curveball
Is Glasnow the best pitcher in baseball right now? You could make the case. He struck out eight Mets and surrendered just two runs over seven innings in the Dodgers’ first game of their doubleheader yesterday. I cut out the audio for the GIF, but the Mets’ announcers were highly impressed by Glasnow’s “signature curveball”. I would agree.
Brayan Bello’s Changeup
Bello lasted just five innings and surrendered three runs, but was able to punch out seven Orioles in this one. This nasty changeup fooled Jorge Mateo and forced him to one knee. Bello throws a heavy dose of changeups. The pitch makes up 33% of his arsenal.
Ben Brown’s Knuckle Curve
Rookie Ben Brown had by far the best outing of his career with ten strikeouts over seven innings of no-hit ball. Unfortunately, he was pulled after seven, and the Cubs could not pull off the combined no-hitter. This knuckle curve to Jake Bauers was his tenth and final strikeout of the night and a fired-up Brown can be seen walking back to the dugout. I had to save the best for last.