10 nasty new pitches worth watching this year

Spring Training is always a testing ground for new pitches. It seems like every pitcher is trying something new with their arsenal.

The regular season is another story. New pitch experiments from the spring evaporate as quickly as they came -- see Garrett Crochet and his new splitter, for example, which he scrapped immediately in his first start of 2026.

But some of those new pitches do stick. Let's find some interesting ones from the first week of the 2026 regular season. For our purposes, it could be a brand-new pitch that the pitcher wasn't throwing at all last year, or a significant change to the way they're throwing a pitch this season that basically makes it something entirely different than before.

Here are 10 new pitches -- or new variations of pitches -- that are worth watching this season.

1) Logan Gilbert, Mariners -- Changeup

Gilbert was filthy enough when he was just throwing a splitter. Now the Mariners ace is throwing a changeup on top of that splitter? That's not fair. Gilbert has turned his one wipeout offspeed pitch into two wipeout offspeed pitches -- the splitter that drops even more sharply than it did last year, and a changeup that fades a ton. The new changeup is averaging just under 85 mph with 16 inches of horizontal movement.

2) Dylan Cease, Blue Jays -- Changeup

Cease has tried forever to figure out a changeup. Maybe he finally has. Before this year, Cease had settled for a super-slow "Bugs Bunny" changeup that was mainly a gimmick pitch. But this year, he has a real one. Cease was a top-tier strikeout artist even when he was basically a two-pitch pitcher with his fastball and slider. In 2026, he seems to be trying to broaden his arsenal -- a lot of pitchers are doing that -- and finding a changeup is part of it. Cease's new changeup is sitting in the mid-80s instead of the old one in the high 70s, and he's mixed it in regularly in his first two starts for Toronto.

3) Cam Schlittler, Yankees -- Cutter

Schlittler was already throwing a cutter as a rookie, and it was a pretty darn good one. But in his sophomore season, he's tweaked the grip for that cutter, and it looks like a much different pitch. Not only is Schlittler's cutter way harder than last year -- averaging over 94 mph through two starts, compared to 92 mph in 2025 -- but it's getting a ton of carry through the strike zone, a la Kenley Jansen or peak Corbin Burnes.

4) Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies -- Slider

This one's also an adjustment. Sánchez is now spiking his left index finger when he throws his slider, and the pitch is looking a lot different as a result. The Phillies' ace has added four whole inches of drop on his slider without sacrificing velocity (the pitch is still coming in between 85-86 mph). Sánchez's slider already had sharp movement last season (2 1/2 inches more drop than an average slider), but this season it has really sharp movement (five inches more drop than average).

5) Jack Leiter, Rangers -- Cutter

Leiter introduced two new pitches last year -- a sinker and "kick change" changeup -- and he's introducing another new one this year. That pitch is a cutter, which is worth watching for its velocity alone. The 25-year-old flamethrower is sitting at just under 94 mph with his cutter, to go with other high-velo pitches like his 97 mph fastball, 91 mph changeup and 87 mph slider. It's a real power pitcher's arsenal.

6) Jhoan Duran, Phillies -- Split-change

The pioneer of the "splinker" -- Duran's sinker/splitter hybrid pitch that can come in at upwards of 100 mph -- has now added a second variation into his pitch mix: a split-change. So if you're keeping track at home, the Phillies closer is now throwing a sinker/splitter hybrid and a splitter/changeup hybrid. Duran's old splinker (currently classified by Statcast as a sinker) averages just over 97 mph with 25 inches of drop and 17 inches of arm-side run. The new split-change (classified as a splitter) averages about 89 mph with 34 inches of drop and 13 inches of run. That's a true offspeed pitch to keep hitters off his triple-digit fastball.

7) Joe Boyle, Rays -- Sweeper

Boyle used to throw a sweeper -- albeit very sparingly -- a couple of years ago, but he scrapped it last season amid larger changes to his arm angle. The thing is, though, that new, sidearm delivery he's adopted with the Rays really lends itself to throwing a horizontal-breaking sweeper. So Boyle has brought it back this year as he tries to throw a larger pitch mix overall. The 6-foot-8 righty is getting a good mix of velocity and sharp movement on his 2026 sweeper, which is sitting at just over 85 mph with 15 inches of glove-side break.

8) Paul Skenes, Pirates -- Curveball

For all the ridiculously nasty pitches Skenes has in his arsenal, the one pitch he really lacked his first two seasons was a curve. He technically threw a curveball, sure, but it barely got any break and barely had any velocity separation from his other two breaking balls, his much more effective slider and sweeper. However, early in 2026 Skenes has revamped his curveball. It's slower -- down to under 82 mph from about 84 mph last season -- and is dropping seven inches more (48 inches vs. 41 inches) and breaking three inches more horizontally (nine inches vs. six inches). It's still not the curviest curveball, but it's significantly curvier than it was, and maybe that can make it a better weapon for the reigning Cy Young winner.

9) Roki Sasaki, Dodgers -- Slider

If Roki is going to succeed as a starter, this pitch is going to play a big role. He can't really be a two-pitch pitcher with a fastball and splitter, especially when his command of those two pitches is as erratic as it has been. In his 2026 debut for the Dodgers, the pitch Sasaki relied on most to land in the strike zone was a new pitch: a hard slider that averaged about 88 mph with nice sharp drop (about 2-3 inches above average). Sasaki still needs to get his mechanics and command in order, but the 24-year-old's new pitch is one good sign for him moving forward.

10) Jacob deGrom, Rangers -- Sinker

Any time a pitcher like deGrom tries something new, you pay attention. For years, deGrom had one of the most straightforward -- and overpowering -- arsenals in baseball: a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup and curveball. But this season, the 37-year-old decided to bring back a sinker for the first time in seven years. The last time deGrom had a sinker was the 2019 season with the Mets. But his new sinker looks like it could be good: deGrom was throwing it about 96-97 mph in his 2026 season debut with almost 15 inches of arm-side run. The only problem? As soon as he decided to throw it, deGrom's old teammate Pete Alonso immediately sent the new pitch into the O's bullpen for a home run. Hopefully that won't make deGrom stop throwing the sinker, because we want to see him with a new trick.