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!
Michael Kopech’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/densetotalaidi
I don’t usually lead Nastiest Pitches with a fastball on a 3-0 count, but the movement this pitch gets is extraordinary. Not to mention it hits triple digits and is against the MVP of the league. Disgusting.
Garrett Crochet’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/fluidacidiccottontail
We’ve got a bunch of sliders tonight so we’ve got to break them up a bit. Here’s Kopech’s teammate, Garrett Crochet, also with a nasty pitch down and away to the MVP (yes, he’s the MVP).
Aroldis Chapman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/conventionalhighlevelhoneycreeper
You know a pitch is nasty when you clone an article from a few weeks ago (to use as a template) and a pitch you’re using was also included back on that original day. I think I’ve used about five splitters from Aroldis Chapman this year, and for good reason. The thing looks like a fastball out of the hand, drops like a curveball, has the velocity of a slider, and it barely spins the entire time. No wonder it has a nearly 40% CSW this season.
Alec Mills‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/wastefulcluelesscrane
The King of the Slow Cheese, Alec Mills, threw a 66 MPH curveball on Wednesday that was almost included here, but this changeup was simply the better pitch. Look at how far it drops out of the zone and how late it does so. That’s middle-in almost the entire time. Insane.
Blake Treinen’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/gloomyveneratedjenny
My Blake of the Year is Blake Treinen, the nastiest pitcher in baseball. That is not debatable.
Andrew Albers‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/boringforthrightcatfish
I’ve never heard of Andrew Albers before tonight. He’s now on my radar after this devastating slow curve that he locates perfectly. This was personally my favorite pitch of the night.
Tanner Houck’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/colossalpolishedcapybara
It’s a great time to be a Red Sox fan (kind of) since we’re able to enjoy both Chris Sale and Tanner Houck dish out nasty sliders two out of every five days. Seriously, look at this thing! Sure, it starts out a little outside, but that thing almost ended up in Tacoma.
Jake Cousins‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/secondaryplasticiguanodon
I’d argue that Jake Cousins has one of the nastiest sliders in all of baseball. It’s not in the same stratosphere as Blake Treinen, but it’s got some filthy bite to it. The stats back it up, too – 44.3% CSW, 26.4% SwStr%, a 67.4% Strike% and a .119 average against. He’s going to be a filthy weapon out of the bullpen come October.
Paul Sewald’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/definitehalfinganue
This pitch is the cousin of Tanner Houck’s slider from above. See what I did there?
Dillon Tate’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/finespottedgyrfalcon
We wrap up this installment of Nastiest Pitches with a sinker that rides in on the hands of Aaron Judge from none other than Dillon Tate. The fact that the ball starts right where the catcher’s glove is, then ends up a foot inside is super impressive. Also check out the ump flinching at the very end of the GIF, thinking it might get past the catcher and hit him right on the inner thigh. Yeah, I’d be flinching too.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)