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!
Chris Paddack’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/glaringwelllitantlion
San Diego Padres wild man Chris Paddack is always an entertaining watch due to his affable unpredictability. Today, he was very good – earning the win in the first game of the doubleheader with Atlanta after throwing five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits. His lone strikeout was thanks to this beautiful high 97 mph four-seam fastball to the victim, Dansby Swanson.
Ryne Stanek’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/indeliblegiantarcticseal
Ready for takeoff! This vicious climbing 98 mph four-seam fastball from Ryne Stanek was enough to tempt Yu Chang into swinging at hot air for the K. Stanek is one of the league’s premier setup men for Ryan Pressly in Houston.
Jeurys Familia’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/BlaringCornyFoal
One of my favorite pitches that I saw today was this delightful 97 mph Jeurys Familia sinker to Mike Freeman on the inside edge of the strike zone. A perfect blend of heat and movement, too good for any hitter.
Marcus Stroman’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/enlightenedreasonableiberianlynx
Another masterful display from Mets starter Marcus Stroman spurred the Mets to a 7-0 win over the Reds yesterday. Stroman relied heavily on his slider, which was humming – this 84 mph slider to Aristides Aquino was amongst his best pitches of the day.
Garrett Whitlock’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/GroundedRepulsiveAdamsstaghornedbeetle
Alex Cora continues to deploy young Garrett Whitlock in high leverage situations for the Red Sox. The Rule 5 steal from the Yankees is certainly delivering where it counts. This sensational 97 mph sinker to fell Cavan Biggio was part of a clean seventh inning during yesterday’s 7-4 win over the Blue Jays. Whitlock holds a 3-1 record with a 1.34 ERA across 47 frames this season. What a find! And big thanks to PL+ member Pete Dixon for this recommendation in our Discord.
Logan Webb’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/rewardinggrimygalapagoshawk
The Giants continue to roll in the NL West, becoming the first team to reach 60 wins. Starter Logan Webb was strong across five innings, striking out five, including Chris Taylor, with this perfectly located 85 mph changeup.
Julio Urias’ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/slightfatalarrowworm
On the other side, Los Angeles Dodgers hurler Julio Urias was up to his usual tricks with this filthy 87 mph changeup to strike out Mike Yastrzemski. Urias was unlucky to lose out after a fantastic outing, going seven solid innings and giving up just one run on three hits.
Collin McHugh’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/determinedprecioushairstreakbutterfly
Holy Front Door Slider, Batman! Veteran Collin McHugh dazzled with this 79 mph slider to Orioles infielder Pat Valaika that sent social media into a hedonistic dance. McHugh has been a valuable and steady arm through the middle innings for the Rays this year. Today’s outing earned him the win after Randy Arozarena delivered late.
Matt Manning’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/colorlessmisguidedgoldfish
Young buck Matt Manning has had a whirlwind and ragged start to his Major League Baseball career, starting July with an 8.16 ERA. He picked up his second win of the year yesterday with an impressive outing against the Rangers – he struck out four over six innings to earn the first quality start of his career and lowering his ERA down to 5.79 on the season. The best of the bunch was this 84 mph slider to Charlie Culberson.
Eric Lauer’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/WelllitFancyBongo
It was a lesson in control from Brewers starter Eric Lauer yesterday, who exited with a 3-2 lead after five dominant innings only to see Brent Suter blow up in the sixth inning to ruin his chance at a win. He deserved better, so let’s give him some love for this beautiful 89 mph cutter to strike out Carlos Santana.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)
No Dylan Cease? :(
Ooh, he was close I can tell you. Especially those couple of sliders. His knuckle curveball was in with a shout too.