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!
Jeurys Familia’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/unkemptambitiouslice
This pitch has been a Nastiest Pitches staple the last couple weeks, and for good reason. Jeurys Familia himself has said that he doesn’t think his sinker has been as good in the past as it is right now. Uhhhhh, you think? PitchingNinja called this the “Demon Sinker” and for good reason. This is flat out evil.
Eric Lauer’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/untimelyplasticiceblueredtopzebra
Eric Lauer isn’t really known for his cutter. In fact, I don’t think he’s really known for anything other than being on the Brewers. At least, he wasn’t known for anything until now. NOW he’s known for a filthy cutter that I’ll be looking for any time he pitches. Well done, Eric.
Jorge López’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/grandorangeantelopegroundsquirrel
Jorge López took a no hitter into the sixth inning and looked pretty good doing so, save for the five walks and only five whiffs. 11 called strikes on the sinker, which isn’t a called strike type of pitch, was a bit of a gift, but this was no gift. This was a perfect pitch.
Anthony Bender’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/tintedharmlessichidna
If you haven’t read Kyle Horton’s piece on Anthony Bender yet, you should do so now. That’s it, that’s the blurb.
José Alvarado’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/immaterialwelltodoamurstarfish
José Alvarado was once again robbed by a bad camera angle, as this pitch was heading inside before it darted back over the edge of the plate. Josh Bell’s reaction says it all. This pitch is absolutely filthy and the visual effect just isn’t as good because of how terrible this camera angle is. Sad.
Eli Morgan’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/aridaccurateeasteuropeanshepherd
Eli Morgan was the star of Monday’s games and I simply cannot get enough of his changeup. 77 MPH seems slow even for a changeup when most guys are throwing it mid-80s, but when he’s topping out at 91 MPH and the changeup is sitting a cool 14 MPH lower with a ton of movement? Yeah, this guy is gonna have a lot of success in his career. The Cleveland Pitching Factory (that should have been their new name) has churned out yet another one in the long line of great pitchers.
Chris Mazza’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/inferiortediousgermanpinscher
Chris Mazza came on as an innings-eater on Monday night after Michael Wacha struggled mightily. He had a very nice 41% CSW overall on 56 pitches thrown but still managed to give up three earned runs. It just goes to show that sometimes an opposing team is locked in and will hit anything, no matter how nasty your stuff is.
Mason Thompson’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/parallelpoorbullmastiff
This is another pitch that got robbed by the poor camera angle in Washington. It gets a ton of arm-side movement as it darts inside the zone, but we really can’t see the movement as well as we should. MLB really needs to standardize camera placement in 2022 and beyond if they want to grow the game.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)