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!
Carlos Rodón’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/heartfeltsecretghostshrimp
With a fastball up to 97 and sliders up to 90, it’s easy to see why Rodon struck out 11 batters and earned 19 whiffs last night. This pitch, perfectly located to the back foot of Jordan Luplow, was his hardest breaking ball of the night and got him out of a bases loaded jam with no damage.
Tony Gonsolin’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/shoddygreenaustrianpinscher
This ridiculous pitch dives right under the zone at the last minute to get Hunter Renfroe swinging. Gonsolin had another beautiful start, going seven shutout with eight strikeouts, lowering his season ERA to a miniscule 2.12.
Yimi García’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/exaltedcapitalindri
While it initially looked like a strike, this pitch to Austin Hays just kept riding in and in on him. In total, this sinker had 26 inches of horizontal break, over two feet and roughly one and a half home plate’s worth.
Roansy Contreras‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/saltyemotionalfishingcat
Contreras threw a lot of hard sliders yesterday, with nearly as many sliders (39) as fastballs (43). That decision paid off as his results with it were elite, with 10 whiffs on 19 swings and a 44% CSW. This was the second of two pitches in a row to Tommy Pham in the same place, and he whiffed on both.
George Kirby’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/generousfatalladybug
Armed with big velocity and elite control, Kirby has been one of the better rookie pitchers in the league, sporting an ERA below 3.5. You can see both on display here, as he almost perfectly hits his spot with a 96 mph heater. Kirby was the only Mariners pitcher yesterday to record an out against the red-hot Shohei Ohtani.
Craig Kimbrel’s Knuckle Curve
https://gfycat.com/secretindeliblefruitbat
Kimbrel is a closer who throws fastballs over two-thirds of the time, so it can catch hitters off guard when he mixes in the curveball. He gets Keston Hiura to freeze on this pitch, and got another first pitch called strike to the next hitter on a similarly located pitch.
Jhoan Duran’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/forkeddetailedbassethound
The splinker is back! This gravity-defying pitch is one of the most exciting in baseball, especially when paired with his fastball that has touched 103 before. Pinch hitter Nick Pratto quickly struck out in this at-bat, and two of the strikes came on this nasty splitter.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)