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.
Tarik Skubal’s Fastball
We will kick off today’s Nastiest Pitches article with this 100 mph rising fastball from Tarik Skubal. This was Skubal’s fastest pitch of the night and his only pitch with triple-digit velocity. Skubal totaled seven punchouts on the night while surrendering three runs to the Twins.
Hayden Wesneski’s Sweeper
The movement on this sweeper from Wesneski is quite remarkable. This pitch is just 82 mph but fools Johan Rojas into thinking it’s a hittable pitch. The reliever-turned-starter Wesneski took the loss last night but managed to strike out seven Phillies.
Kutter Crawford’s Cutter
If your name is Kutter, you better have a nasty cutter in your arsenal. Luckily Crawford has one, and it’s a good one. This pitch breaks late inside to Vidal Bruján, forcing him to take an ugly hack. This was one of the best starts of the season for Crawford. He struck out seven over six innings while allowing just one run to the fish.
Reynaldo López’s Slider
Lopez came into this game with a league-leading 1.83 ERA and maintained that lead after another successful outing against the Giants. This slider is unhittable and forces Jorge Soler to chase.
Sean Manaea’s Sweeper
CJ Abrams was completely fooled on this 81 mph sweeper from Sean Manaea. Manaea recorded five total punchouts but couldn’t quite etch out the win over the Nats in this one.
Kyle Gibson’s Sweeper
Kyle Gibson had Bryan Reynolds fooled here with an 80 mph sweeper that dropped just below the strike zone. Gibson has a deep arsenal and throws this pitch 21.6% of the time, second to only his sinker at 27.6%.
Luis Gil’s Fastball
Gil has come back to earth over his last three outings after he showed complete dominance in the early months of the season. He surrendered four runs in this one but did manage to record three strikeouts, including this rising fastball to Spencer Steer.
Grayson Rodriguez’s Changeup
Rodriguez executed this changeup perfectly to Luke Raley. It was one of the best starts of the season for Rodriguez, who struck out eight Mariners over six innings of work. Three of his eight punchouts came via the changeup.
DJ Herz’s Changeup
Herz has had some monster games and some poor games in the early stages of his career. Luckily, his start last night against the Mets was one of his monster games. He struck out ten batters over just five innings, including this nasty changeup to Harrison Bader.
Valente Bellozo’s Changeup
If you hadn’t heard of Valente Bellozo before last night’s outing I don’t blame you. He made his second start of the year against the Red Sox and managed to strike out eight batters. This changeup to Wilyer Abreu was one of the nastiest of the night.