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 Changeup
It was just another day at the office for Tarik Skubal on Wednesday as the lefty struck out six Rangers. Two Ks came on Skubal’s changeup, including this one at the bottom of the zone to Ezequiel Duran.
Michael King’s Sweeper
It was a 1-0 final in Milwaukee Wednesday afternoon, indicative of the strong pitching performances on display. Michael King struck out 10 in his best start as a Padre and put away Jackson Chourio twice, both on sweepers way out of the zone.
Max Fried’s Curveball
Max Fried wasn’t his sharpest in Houston on Wednesday and only picked up a pair of strikeouts in his five innings. He did show off his big slow curveball here to Kyle Tucker, though.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
It took Kevin Gausman a few starts to find his footing coming off a Spring Training shoulder injury but looked to be in vintage form here on Wednesday. He punched out six and got Giancarlo Stanton to flail at his signature splitter.
Michael Wacha’s Changeup
Michael Wacha took the ball in game two of the Royals’ doubleheader on Wednesday and was saddled with the tough-luck loss after six innings of two-run ball. Wacha struck out four and got Paul DeJong on a great change here in the fourth.
James McArthur’s Curveball
Did James McArthur get a bit of help with this call? Maybe… Was this pitch nasty? Certainly.
Bryce Miller’s Sinker
Mariners’ starters dominated their three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds with Bryce Miller taking control of the finale. Miller struck out seven over six efficient innings and froze Nick Martini on a great front-door sinker.
Zack Littell’s Splitter
Journeyman Zack Littell is providing the Rays with strong early returns in his first season as a full-time starter. On the season, Littell is throwing his splitter 17% of the time, but he upped that to 38% on Wednesday evening.
It’s easy to see why when it makes hitters look like this.
Tanner Houck’s Slider
Tanner Houck spun a gem on Wednesday, throwing a complete game shutout, needing only 94 pitches. Houck struck out nine in the swift contest that lasted just under two hours. Houck’s slider carried an impressive 54% CSW and he showed it off here to Gabriel Arias.
Ryan Feltner’s Slider
It was a perplexing final line for Ryan Feltner as the Colorado righty led the league in whiffs on Wednesday with 22, to go along with a solid 31% CSW. The box score didn’t match the effort, however, as he allowed six runs over his five and one-third innings.
Feltner did strike out eight, and his first of the day came on a filthy back-foot slider to Bryce Harper.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)