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.
Erik Miller’s Fastball
After retiring Zack Short for the first out of the bottom of the seventh, Erik Miller started Jarren Duran with a slider for a called strike then climbed the ladder with this high-octane heater. A fourth-round pick by the Phillies back in 2019, Miller recorded a 32.9% K rate across 52 innings with the River Cats last season. Walks were a little bit of an issue. Still, it’s not hard to imagine him becoming a weapon out of the Giants’ pen.
Kyle Bradish’s Slider
Bradish didn’t last long enough to qualify for the win but all things considered, his return to the mound was about as good of an outcome as O’s fans could’ve hoped. His signature slider, including this one to Anthony Volpe that set up his fifth and final K of the afternoon, returned six whiffs on 16 swings for a 38% whiff rate.
Carlos Rodón’s Slider
The Orioles pummeled Carlos Rodón for six earned runs, including three dingers. However, there were some encouraging signs as he dialed his fastball up to 98 while recording a season-high CSW of 33% on 80 total pitches. After fanning Adley Rutschman with a slider in their first meeting, Rodón made him bend the knee with another hard-biting slider in the fifth.
Edward Cabrera’s Changeup
Edward Cabrera’s final line wasn’t pretty as he allowed four earned runs over four innings while also issuing four free passes. Still, he racked up 16 swings and misses, seven of which came from his nasty changeup. Recent call-up Hunter Goodman foul-tipped this one moments before ending the second on a fly out to left.
Ron Marinaccio’s Changeup
Yesterday’s game in Camden Yards was already decided by the time Ron Marinaccio entered in the fifth. Nevertheless, he made last year’s AL Rookie of the Year look clueless with this changeup that tumbled into the righty batter’s box with some serious arm-side fade. Through 9.2 innings thus far, Marinaccio’s change has yielded a 44.4% whiff rate.
Ben Brown’s Knuckle Curve
Walks got the better of Ben Brown who held the Mets to two earned runs across four and two-thirds innings at Citi Field, not far from his hometown of East Setauket. However, he racked up 12 swings and misses thanks to his excellent knuckle curve which has thus far returned a 40.6% whiff rate. Joey Wendle saw firsthand why this pitch might become a problem as he became Brown’s fifth and final K victim of the afternoon.
Calvin Faucher’s Curveball
Calvin Faucher struggled over the past two seasons with the Rays posting a 5.48 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. However, he’s found some success early this year in the Marlins’ pen. The former tenth-round pick of the Twins back in 2017 features a cutter and a nifty curveball. This one locked up Ryan McMahon for the first out of the sixth.
Edwin Diaz’s Slider
The Mets outlasted the Cubs 7-6 in extras thanks to their All-Star closer who entered in the ninth after Nico Hoerner drew a leadoff walk. Díaz nailed six big outs; the first was this punchout of former Yankee, the Sock man himself, Mike Tauchman.