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 Rodriguez’s Knucklecurve
https://gfycat.com/wavywelldocumentedeuropeanpolecat
I mean… what’s a guy supposed to do with this pitch? Nobody is going to hit this. Chris Rodriguez has made a name for himself with eight strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings of relief so far this season. I had already seen his filthy sinker, but it’s good to know he has this junk in his trunk as well.
Joe Musgrove’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/untimelyedibleelkhound
The man of the night didn’t have the nastiest pitch of the night, but he can’t have everything right? This slider was still filthy, and his breaking stuff only got better as the game went on. This was the performance of the year so far in the young season.
Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/neglectedfarflungbirdofparadise
Rich Hill turned back the clocks and had a 40% CSW on Friday night. His fastball had a 48% CSW on its own. His fastball! 48%! The same pitch that averages 88 MPH was responsible for five of his seven strikeouts. Unreal. The curveball was absolutely filthy all night, which definitely kept Yankees hitters on their toes and guessing at every pitch. I love a good Rich Hill curveball and this one is absolutely fantastic.
Lance McCullers’ Slider
https://gfycat.com/alarmedeverygharial
Lance McCullers‘ dope new slider had a 38% CSW in his five innings of work, and it was very impressive. The overall outing was a bit shaky for McCullers but he grinded it out and escaped a jam in the 5th inning. McCullers is entering must-watch territory whenever he’s on the mound.
Andrew Heaney’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/dimgravejaguarundi
Andrew Heaney’s nine strikeouts on the night were thanks largely in part to his off-speed stuff. His changeup and curveball combined for a 41.9% CSW, and his fastball wasn’t too shabby either.
Corey Kluber’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/impracticalorangeatlanticsharpnosepuffer
This wasn’t Corey Kluber’s day, giving up five earned runs in only 2.1 innings, but this slider to Brandon Lowe was still disgusting. (H/t to PL+ member pj20)
Blake Treinen’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/decisiveunnaturalhuemul
This is a pretty ho-hum sinker by Blake Treinen’s standards, but it’s still filthier than 97% of sinkers in the league. It was also a strike-em-out throw-em-out situation as Victor Robles was thrown out attempting to steal second. Overall a pretty nasty sequence for Treinen in a big spot in the game.
Johnny Cueto’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/scrawnyquarrelsomechinchilla
The pitch was nice, but let’s be honest – this pitch is made nastier by the triple shuffle in the middle of Johnny Cueto’s windup. Cueto threw an absolute gem on Friday, cruising through 8.2 innings before getting pulled before the final batter of the game. Baseball is more fun when Cueto is doing this every five days.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)