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!
Jhoan Duran’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/rawmassiveant
Baseball Savant classified this Jhoan Duran pitch as a four-seamer, though it does resemble Duran’s “splinker”. Either way, it was nasty. Alex Verdugo had no chance of hitting this movement at 100 MPH.
Brayan Bello’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/equalfrequentalbatross
Brayan Bello has absolutely dominated the minor leagues this year, earning himself a handful of spot starts with the Red Sox. While he hasn’t shown that same dominance at the Major League level yet, this changeup to Carlos Correa shows how nasty his arsenal is.
Pablo López’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/courageousneglectedamphiuma
Pablo López has cooled down a bit from his red-hot start to the season, but the veteran right-hander has still put forward a strong season in Miami. He kept the potent Dodger lineup at bay on Monday, though LA would win in extras. López had six strikeouts with five on the fastball. The outlier was this filthy curve to Chris Taylor.
José Berríos‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/crispmistyhare
It’s been a season to forget for José Berríos as the Jay has struggled to an ERA over five. Monday was another tough outing for the righty as he struggled to the tune of four runs in five innings. He picked up four strikeouts and struck out Ian Happ on a disgusting back-foot curveball.
Corbin Burnes‘ Cutter
https://gfycat.com/sarcasticnegligibleanhinga
Corbin Burnes wasn’t at his best on Monday allowing five runs over six innings. The Milwaukee offense did their job, though, and put up seven runs to take down the Pirates in extras. Burnes showed off his great cutter and put away Rodolfo Castro looking on a perfectly placed back-door cutter.
Frankie Montas‘ Splitter
https://gfycat.com/slimyfirstamazontreeboa
Frankie Montas’ tenure with the Yankees has not gone as smoothly as his time with the A’s. Monday was another middling performance from the righty who allowed four runs over six innings. All six of his strikeouts on the night came by way of the splitter and he ended his night on a great one to Jo Adell.
José Alvarado’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/bowedglisteningatlanticbluetang
With twenty combined runs the Phillies and Diamondbacks match up in the desert was by no means a pitchers’ duel. José Alvarado was the lone Phillie pitcher to not allow a run in the contest and ended his outing with a great cutter to tie up slugger Christian Walker.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)