Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games. If you see something you think should be included here be sure to tweet @PitcherList to let us know. Or, if you’re a PL+ Member and part of our Discord, shout it out in the Nastiest Pitches channel.
Gavin Williams‘ Curveball
The Cleveland Guardians are a quiet storm. And they might have found another lightning bolt in second-year starter Gavin Williams. After missing most of the season due to an elbow injury in Spring, Williams is back and pouring it on. Williams turns outfielder Mark Canha into a hobby horse with this looping 82-mile-per-hour curveball cut from a 1950s newsroom. A strong fourth and fifth surged the 24-year-old’s stat line to five-and-one-third scoreless innings, a walk, and five strikeouts.
Andrew Abbott’s Sweeper
Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott had it all working on Monday night. Nowhere was that more evident than this sweet sweeper that landed right where catcher Tyler Stephenson wanted it and past Rockies second baseman Brendan Donovan’s bat. In the words of former White Sox commentator Ken Harrelson, “He gone!” Abbott continued to chew through Colorado like a pack of gum, pitching seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two walks, punching out eight, and coaxing 18 swinging strikes.
Christian Scott’s Sweeper
Though the Mets’ offense ran cold in Pittsburgh, rookie pitcher Christian Scott was red-hot. The former Florida Gator chomped through five-and-two-thirds innings, allowing just one hit, a walk, and two runs while striking out three. His last of the game was this beautiful dive-bombing sweeper Pittsburgh’s Joey Bart surrenders to. Marone.
Mitch Keller’s Fastball
While Scott pitched well, his performance paled to Mitch Keller’s. The right-hander rendered Jeff McNeil a Stone Age pony with this cross-body fastball that catches the inside part of the plate. Overall, Keller allowed just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts over eight innings pitched. Don’t look now, but Keller has a 2.15 ERA over his last 11 starts.
Mitchell Parker’s Slider
Monday saw the tale of two Mitch’s. While Keller kept the Mets in check on the Alleghany, Mitchell Parker cruised through the Cardinals on the Potomac. The only regret the left-hander has is a middle-middle fastball Paul Goldschmidt drove 415 feet deep. Besides that, it was smooth sailing, including this arcing slider that coaxes a futile swing from Nolan Gorman. Despite Parker’s efforts, the Nats sunk in the series closer and tabbed the pitcher with his fifth loss.
Fernando Cruz’s Splitter
What’s more likely? Mother Earth implodes into a ball of gaseous balls of fire at 12:48 Eastern time, or Fernando Cruz appears on our list when pitching against a ragtag Rockies offense? Congratulations if you chose the latter. You win. If you’re Rockies outfielder Jake Cave, you lose after getting locked up by Cruz’s splitter.
Ryan Feltner’s Sinker
This sinker from Ryan Feltner, on the surface, seems ordinary. At first, it comes across as a perfectly executed inside sinker that lands where it should’ve. But watch again. Watch how the ball overshoots its target to its benefit, keeps spinning, and fools Reds infielder Noelvi Marte so badly he never could’ve touched it unless he had a sequoia in his hands.
Sam Hentges‘ Slider
Let’s bookend our list with a pair of pitches from Cleveland pitchers. While Williams went low with his curveball, Sam Hentges‘ went in with this towering yet tunneling slider. Where Canha whiffed through, Tigers infielder Gio Urshela flailed to the point of having a hitch to his swing and a backpedaling to his feet. Detroit heeded the call regardless of their struggles, scored a run in the eighth, and put the game and Monday’s Nastiest Pitches to bed.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram