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.
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Aaron Nola’s Knuckle Curve
https://gfycat.com/unfortunatedarlingjuliabutterfly
Nola’s breaker is easily one of the best pitches in baseball, with both a foot of horizontal sweep and vertical drop compared to a ball thrown without spin. His 20 whiffs in this start tied him for the most of any pitcher all day, and while his elite 48% curveball CSW might seem ridiculous for some, it was more par for the course for Nola.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/pleaseddeadlybordercollie
The Airbender strikes yet again! Williams’ top-of-the-scale spin rate and horizontal movement make this pitch almost like a slider that broke in the wrong direction, and it racks up whiffs like no other pitch. He’s striking out over 14 batters per nine innings with a 1.67 ERA this year, making him one of the most dominant relievers in baseball.
Tyler Glasnow’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/slushybitesizedeeve
It’s been over 15 months since his last major league appearance, but Glasnow is back to dominating already. Just 18 pitches into his start, he threw this ridiculous curveball with a 2640 rpm spin rate that got Josh Naylor to lose his helmet as he swung for the fences. Glasnow allowed just one run in his three innings with a 32% CSW in the process.
Taijuan Walker’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/waryjealousflickertailsquirrel
The late vertical drop on this pitch is incredible. It’s no wonder that 11 of Walker’s 20 whiffs in this start came off the split-piece. Despite giving up three runs, Walker pitched excellently in this game, setting up the dramatic walk-off win as the Mets race for the NL East crown.
Josiah Gray’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/flawlessscaredamericangoldfinch
Gray’s breaking balls have been one of the biggest highlights of the year for this rebuilding Nationals squad. Throwing his slider and curveball them two-thirds of the time in this start, he held the Braves to just one run in six innings with seven whiffs on the breakers alone. He got Travis d’Arnaud way out in front of this pitch for the whiff.
Bryse Wilson’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/aggravatingplumpbuckeyebutterfly
Wilson had arguably the best performance of any starter yesterday, going eight scoreless against the Reds while striking out six and walking just one. Working primarily with a sinker/changeup mix, he used the sinker to get plenty of ground balls while inducing whiffs galore on changeups below the strike zone.
Raisel Iglesias‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/defiantimmaterialacornbarnacle
This pitch almost looks like it has a parachute attached to it as it travels towards the plate. Iglesias has been possibly the best reliever in the majors since his trade to the Braves at the deadline. In 22.1 innings since joining his new team, he’s allowed just one earned run, good for an ERA+ north of 1000.