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.
As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/villainoussinfulbream
We’re spoiled to have a pitcher like Devin Williams in baseball right now. He’s a one-man highlight reel with a top-five nastiest pitch in baseball right now, and every time he pitches it seems like we’re blessed with a disgusting GIF like this one. Woof.
Julio Urías‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/someblushingfirefly
Julio Urías fooled the heck out of Christian Walker with this devastating curveball midway through his outing. He only had a 19% CSW with the curve on the day and he only struck out four batters, but all we need is one pitch for our purposes and this one sure slaps.
Pablo López’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/bolddishonestdodobird
This changeup from Pablo López might be as good as, if not better than, the one above by Devin Williams. A filthy changeup falling down and away from a left-handed batter is truly one of the most beautiful things in sports.
Yohan Ramirez’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/fatlegitimateichthyostega
Yohan Ramirez came on in relief of Marco Gonzales after he was hit by a comebacker in the first inning and he pitched pretty well. He racked up a 36% CSW on the slider and a 38% CSW on the fastball over three innings of two-run ball. Considering his arsenal only consisted of a two-pitch mix, that’s not too shabby. Neither is this pitch, which is absolutely disgusting and completely fools Brandon Lowe.
Trevor Richards‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/harmoniousvigorousiberianchiffchaff
I believe this is the third time I’ve featured Trevor Richards‘ changeup in Nastiest Pitches this year and I’ll keep coming back for more if he keeps throwing junk like this. This pitch is one of the more underrated pitches in the AL East, if not the entire league.
Clay Holmes‘ Sinker
https://gfycat.com/grossmarriedarcticseal
It’s not often that you see a sinker up in the zone that ends up buckling the batter’s knees, but Clay Holmes accomplished that feat on Wednesday night with this devastating sinker that started on the hands and ended over the middle of the plate.
Aaron Ashby’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/questionableweakangwantibo
Aaron Ashby put together a solid start and he was all kinds of nasty during it. His changeup was his best pitch, registering a fantastic 44% CSW, but this slider was straight-up filthy and deserved inclusion on today’s list.
Joe Ryan’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/coldsilverbuck
I love the look of this changeup from Joe Ryan and I really wish the broadcast would have given us a slo-mo view of it. When you really look at them, most of the nastiest changeups are from righties and have a lot of downward, arm-side break (like the ones above). This one is just different in that it doesn’t get as much downward break but is still nasty. Different is always nice.
Jakob Junis‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/thatmistyiberianbarbel
After Sam Long opened, Jakob Junis came in and dominated the A’s to the tune of six strikeouts over five innings. The slider alone earned a 42% CSW and had hitters fooled all night. Switching between the A’s and Giants’ broadcasts brought us these two different views of the same pitch, which I thought made for a pretty cool GIF.
Dylan Cease’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/shabbyloneasp
Finally, we wrap up the day’s Nastiest Pitches with a beautiful curveball from Dylan Cease. This man is developing into an ace right in front of our eyes.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)