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.
Hunter Brown’s Knuckle Curve
Elly De La Cruz’s first at-bat against Hunter Brown ended with him fishing at a curve in the dirt. Brown got ahead of the switch-hitting star shortstop again in their third meeting, only this time he painted a curve perfectly on the corner at the knees for a called third strike. Brown held the Reds scoreless through six, but unfortunately for him, his counterpart Rhett Lowder, the seventh overall pick from a year ago, was just as good helping the home team eke out a 1-o win.
Taj Bradley’s Splitter
Taj Bradley and Pablo López went toe-to-toe at the Trop with a pitcher’s duel that saw the two combine for 19 strikeouts. Bradley had 10, his fifth coming at the expense of Carlos Santana who had no chance on a perfectly placed splitter on the outside corner.
Taj Bradley’s Cutter
Matt Wallner went yard in the third, giving the Twins a 4-0 lead. However, Bradley found vengeance in the fifth by starting their rematch with this beautiful backdoor cutter before busting him inside with another cutter for the punchout.
Pablo López’s Curveball
Pablo López pitched well holding the Rays to three earned runs across six and two-thirds innings while registering a 37% whiff rate. One of those whiffs came from Brandon Lowe who flailed in vain at a sharp curveball for López’s sixth strikeout of the night.
Casey Mize’s Slider
Mize’s slider has not been impressive this year in terms of swings and misses, yielding a 8.5% SwStr% rate that puts it in the bottom tenth percentile among SPs. Still, an anomalous slider got an awkward swing from Jurickson Profar in their second meeting after their first encounter ended with the Padres left fielder rounding the bases on a two-run shot to right on a fastball at the letters. Mize ended the night with just two strikeouts backed by a 15% whiff rate. Alas, the post-hype Mize breakout might have to wait another year.
Ryan Walker’s Slider
Walker’s deceptive crossfire delivery and wicked slider have combined to make him one of the best relievers in baseball. His slider has yielded a 20.3% SwStr rate while holding batters to a .196 wOBA, both just a tick outside the top 20th percentile among RPs. Walker replaced Camilo Doval with two down and the go-ahead run on third but dispatched Jake McCarthy with his usual sorcery to escape the jam.
Martín Pérez’s Changeup
Pérez is probably not the first name that pops into your head when you think of nasty stuff as a pitch-to-contact type who prefers hitters get themselves out. Still, as someone with an affinity for well-located changeups, this 3-2 beauty from the well-traveled southpaw grabbed my attention. The perfectly placed change froze Justyn-Henry Malloy for his first of five strikeouts. Pérez cruised into the seventh but saw his bid for his fifth win fall by the wayside after Robert Suarez surrendered a ninth-inning grand slam to Parker Meadows.
Jhoan Duran’s Curveball
Jhoan Duran needed just 12 pitches to bag his 22nd save. Taylor Walls‘ expression here pretty much sums it up. He swung through Duran’s first pitch, a 100 mph fastball upstairs. The second pitch was a heater just off the edge to even the count. And then Duran dropped this terrifying front door hook before fanning the lefty shortstop with another 101 mph heater upstairs.