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!
Pablo López’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/KnobbyConsciousEasteuropeanshepherd
Starting off this Monday morning we have Pablo López, who plays an important role for a young and scrappy Marlins rotation that has been solid to start the season. López is known for his changeup and he used it yesterday to notch each of his nine strikeouts. Here’s just a sample of the filthy offering. It’s is a devastating pitch that dips just under the bat of Alex Dickerson, who swings and misses at strike three.
Marcus Stroman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/EasygoingOblongEastsiberianlaika
It was another great outing for Marcus Stroman who worked efficiently (90 pitches!) over eight frames as he lowered his ERA on the year to 0.90. So, I guess you could say it’s been a pretty good return to the mound for Stroman, who missed the entire 2020 season after a calf injury. But Marcus is back now, and here he tosses a nasty splitter past Garrett Hampson for a swinging strike.
Gerrit Cole’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/HappygoluckyShamelessHoverfly
Gerrit Cole’s solid outing was not enough for the Yankees to win on Sunday afternoon (apparently there’s more than one New York ace who can’t get run support). The Yankees ended up taking a loss as their early season struggles continued. Still, Cole put up 10 strikeouts against the Rays over 6.1 innings, and here he used a beautifully located fastball to paint the corner on Mike Brosseau.
Shane Bieber’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/GrandThickErin
Is it too early to start talking about a Cy Young repeat for Shane Bieber? The Cleveland ace made MLB history yesterday as he became the first starter in the modern era to K 10+ batters in each of his first four starts. Bieber struck out 13 Reds over eight frames, and here he used his signature knuckle-curve to get opposing pitcher Wade Miley swinging out of the zone.
Dennis Santana’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/DistortedAdventurousGar
In a Dodgers-Padres game that featured both Trevor Bauer and Blake Snell, the nastiest offering of the afternoon came from a bit of a lesser known name. Dennis Santana tossed a nasty slider by one of the best in the league, Fernando Tatis Jr., who goes down to one knee on a swing-and-a-miss. Not every pitcher can get one by Tatis like that, but Santana manages it, and let me tell you, it looks filthy.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/FrankPowerfulAdouri
Devin Williams’ changeup is a pitch that doesn’t require any introduction. Here it freezes Anthony Alford for a called first strike. Williams’ would go on to strike out Alford on the same offering a few pitches later, but his first changeup caught the paint, so I’m partial to this one.
Camilo Doval’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ShabbyFragrantHoverfly
Camilo Doval made his MLB debut, and he started out about as good as you can ask for, striking out Jesús Aguilar on 3 pitches. It was his first career K, and it came on a precisely located slider that misses Aguilar’s bat (H/T to PL+ member Ben Murillo).
Aaron Nola’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/HeartyBelovedHerring
Finally, let’s highlight the best start from Sunday afternoon. Aaron Nola was dominant on the mound tossing nine scoreless frames in which he only allowed two base hits. Nola struck out ten and mixed in everything from his fastball to his curve to his changeup. Here he uses the filthy change, arguably his weakest stuff, to induce a nasty whiff out of Justin Williams for a K.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)