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!
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/acrobaticwhoppingdingo
In what ended up being one of the wackiest, strangest games of the day, Kevin Gausman shined once again against fellow ace Shohei Ohtani. He had a 37% CSW on his splitter and struck out nine over seven very strong innings. He’s deserving of the starting gig in the All-Star Game, but we’ll see what a certain New York pitcher has to say about that. (H/t PL+ member Pete Dixon)
Mickey Jannis‘ Knuckleball
https://gfycat.com/disloyaldigitalfox
As a kid growing up in New England in the 2000’s, I grew accustomed to two things: Winning championships (sorry, not sorry), and Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball. There’s a special place in my heart for the knuckler and having it back in Major League Baseball makes me so happy. Mickey Jannis did get lit up in the innings following this pitch, but he’ll figure it out and we’ll get to enjoy plenty more of these (I hope).
José Urquidy’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/healthyaggressivehoverfly
The real story coming out of the Baltimore-Houston game should be José Urquidy’s dominance. He struck out six over seven dominant innings, allowing only four baserunners all night. He only threw 84 pitches and probably could have gone another inning if needed, but with an 11 run lead, there was no reason to keep him out there. His last pitch of the game was this nasty changeup that was simply unhittable.
Germán Márquez’s Knuckle Curve
https://gfycat.com/gorgeoustangibleasiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam
Speaking of strong starts, Germán Márquez also pitched a gem of an outing in Seattle. He pitched eight innings, allowed only two hits and one run while striking out seven. He was rocking with the knuckle curve, sporting a 36% CSW with the pitch on the day. Shed Long was absolutely dominated by this one to the point where he had to sit down and collect his thoughts after a gargantuan whiff.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/slipperyalarmedelephant
Devin Williams struck out Josh Rojas on three filthy changeups (don’t worry about the one ball in the count), and Rojas couldn’t help but shake his head after the fact. The camera angle doesn’t quite do it justice, but the slo-mo we got from this one on the strikeout makes up for it.
Sam Coonrod’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/frenchbetterboa
Sam Coonrod throws mad gas and nasty breakers. This slider to Ryan Zimmermann exploded out of his hand and got a ton of late-breaking action, and Zimmermann was totally fooled by it.
Raisel Iglesias‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/heavenlyelectricamericanmarten
Raisel Iglesias is rounding back into form, and this changeup was a mean way to strike a guy out. I don’t think Mauricio Dubón was saying “Fun” at the end there, either…
Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/denseimprobablearcticduck
Enjoy Rich Hill while you can, because we’re all going to miss him when he’s gone. Who else throws this sidearm 67 MPH cheese at will? Who else can actually have success while throwing this sidearm 67 MPH cheese? I’m not sure anyone does. Rich Hill is special and he’s having one heck of a season.
Trevor Bauer’s Knuckle Curve
https://gfycat.com/confusedimpishcougar
Trevor Bauer did not pitch his best game on Wednesday night, but he did have some success with both his cutter and fastball (45% and 40% CSW respectively). His knuckle-curve? 13% CSW. This was probably his only good one of the night, but it was still nasty enough to beat out the rest of his pitches. That’s why he’s an ace.
Dylan Cease’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/chillyfrigidkingfisher
What’s better than a backdoor curveball painted beautifully on the corner of the zone? Well, nine other pitches on Wednesday… but it was still filthy nonetheless.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)