Pitching Ninja’s Five Filthiest Pitches: Dodgers’ Dustin May’s electric return

By Rob Friedman, aka “Pitching Ninja”
FOX Sports MLB Analyst

If you can’t get enough of unfair sinkers, beautiful curveballs and unhittable sliders, you’ve come to the right place. 

Here are my filthiest pitches from the past week.

1. Dustin May’s electric stuff

I can’t lie: I’ve really missed watching May pitch. His pure stuff is among the best in baseball, with an amazing array of wicked sliders, ridiculous curveballs and fierce, upper-90s two-seamers. 

May has been recovering from Tommy John surgery and took the mound for the Dodgers this week for the first time in 475 days. He did not disappoint, turning in one of the most mind-blowing performances by a starting pitcher this season. 

May showcased breaking balls with up to 3,457 RPMs (highest by a major-league starter this year) and lane-changing two-seamers breaking up to 20 inches. 

Here are some highlights that show just how tough hitting against May is.

2. Jordan Hicks will melt your face off

Hicks has been struggling at times this season, but when everything clicks for him, his pitch arsenal is video-game stuff. 

One of the hardest-throwing pitchers of all time, at his best, Hicks combines 104 mph, dotted two-seamers and silly sliders to dismantle hitters.

3. Triston McKenzie’s hammers

McKenzie set a career high with 14 strikeouts Friday, most of them on his gorgeous curveball. It was a tour de force performance by McKenzie, who is so much fun to watch.

You can see what makes McKenzie’s curveball so tough to hit in this overlay with his fastball. The pitches start out in the same plane, and then the curveball free falls to the ground.

4. Dylan Coleman‘s Frisbee sliders

UFO sliders and a 99 mph fastball are a tough combination for any hitter. 

Here, Coleman shows off both. The sliders appear to have two time zones’ worth of break. Simply unhittable stuff.

5. Xzavion Curry‘s stunning slider

It’s not often a rookie pitcher makes his debut with one of the filthiest pitches of the week, but Curry accomplished the feat with this incredible slider. 

The amazing, sudden drop on this pitch turned Riley Greene into a pretzel. 

Bonus pitches!

Edward Cabrera is known for his high-velocity changeups — he set a StatCast record for the fastest changeup for a strikeout earlier this year — but this breaking ball got the Juan Soto seal of approval.

The Braves’ Mike Soroka is continuing to rehab in the minors and appears to be returning to the form that made him one of Atlanta’s top pitchers. Take a look at this turbo sinker, and you’ll remember what made Soroka such a dominant force. 

In perhaps the most amazing feat of the week, Emmanuel Clase bounced this 92 mph slider to Javy Báez, who somehow not only made contact with the pitch but also hit it all the way to center field! Simply incredible.

The sheer amazement on a Little Leaguer’s face while watching this bewildering Félix Bautista splitter during the Little League Classic says it all. Bautista’s splitter has a better than 54% whiff rate this season and often leaves hitters with the same reaction.

Rob Friedman is a pitching analyst on Twitter and YouTube, and his work has been featured on many Major League Baseball broadcasts.