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.
Kevin Kelly’s Sweeper
Another clean inning from Rays RP Kevin Kelly dropped his ERA to 2.71 with a 0.98 WHIP. Despite this punchout of Parker Meadows, Kelly isn’t a huge swing-and-miss guy; his K rate is just one point above the league average. However, he has an exceptionally unique induced movement profile starting with his sweeper’s 20.1 inches of glove-side break (95th percentile). Meanwhile, his sinker’s arm-side break (i.e. toward 3B) ranks in the 84th percentile. Kelly’s unique arm slot also gives him a 99th percentile height-adjusted vertical approach angle. All told, there’s no denying Kelly’s success. He’s nasty!
Kumar Rocker’s Slider
Efficiency has alluded Rocker through his first three appearances. He gave up three earned runs on seven hits yesterday afternoon against the A’s. However, the hits were all singles, perhaps hinting at a small silver lining. Regardless, his beautiful slider has passed the eye test. This one to Tyler Soderstrom produced his first K of the day.
Aaron Civale’s Cutter
Sure, Aaron Civale doesn’t throw hard or typically rack up K’s. But he can cook when he’s locating his cutter well like we saw yesterday. Eric Haase didn’t have to move his mitt on this one that handcuffed his counterpart, Joey Bart. Civale really leaned into his cutter, tossing 43 of them out of his 86 total pitches. And the results were good with the pitch yielding a 38% CSW over his six scoreless innings.
Corbin Burnes‘ Slider
Burnes looked untouchable out of the gate fanning seven of the first 12 batters he faced, including Juan Soto twice. This perfect backdoor slider felled rookie Jasson Domínguez in his first at-bat. Burnes needed only 69 pitches to strike out nine Yankees before leaving after five. However, unfortunately for the Birds, their pen couldn’t replicate Burnes’ brilliance as the game quickly turned into a rout in favor of the pinstripers.
Griffin Jax’s Sweeper
One of the year’s best relievers, Griffin Jax, kept the Twins’ three-run deficit from getting bigger by working a scoreless seventh. Although, it wasn’t a perfect inning. Jax had to work around a two-out single from Jesús Sánchez before fanning this man, Jonah Bride, with the pitch that has bewildered hitters all summer, the sweeper. Jax’s 2.06 ERA and 0.87 WHIP speak to his brilliance. But if you’re wondering, yes, PLV loves him, too; his 5.58 PLV ranks third among all pitchers with at least 500 pitches thrown.
Joe Musgrove’s Curveball
As Burnes did to the Yankees, Joe Musgrove held the Dodgers’ hopes of winning the division on hold for a bit. This wicked curveball to Tommy Edman netted his fourth strikeout. However, the home team busted through in the seventh on a two-run dinger from Will Smith.
Blake Treinen’s Sinker
Eager to get on base with the Padres down three runs, Fernando Tatís Jr. took a 3-1 sinker from Blake Treinen and proceeded to first base. However, home plate ump Jansen Visconti denied him the pleasure thanks to this nasty sinker that just barely whispered across the upper corner of the zone. Treinen lost Tatís on the next pitch but was otherwise spotless tossing a scoreless eighth. Treinen has been lights-out this year, posting a 1.93 ERA, 0.94 ERA, and 25.5% K-BB across 46.2 IP. As an impending UFA, Treinen could be a coveted addition for at least a few clubs this offseason.
Mason Miller’s Fastball
We wrap up the final Thursday of the season on what was sadly the last game in Oakland. Nathaniel Lowe went down swinging on the Miller Express for the first out of the ninth. Miller later tossed a heater at 103.8 but alas Stony Brook’s finest, Travis Jankowski fouled it off before making the final out of Miller’s 28th save. The somber backdrop of this game aside, let’s admire the damage Miller’s heater inflicted this season: a .171 batting average against, a .244 wOBA allowed, and a 20.5% SwStr rate.