Shane McClanahan might just be the filthiest starting pitcher in MLB. Yes, he doesn't have the popularity of a Walker Buehler or Shohei Ohtani. But this 25-year old left-hander has the tools to win the Cy Young award. The Rays have an ace in their midst which is especially crucial this season given that Tyler Glasnow is expected to miss most of the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery a season ago.

McClanahan most recently excelled in a duel with Ohtani in Anaheim. The Angels top-tier offense was no match for McClanahan, who kept them scoreless through 7 innings of work. He struck out 11 hitters while surrendering just 3 hits and walking only 1 in the effort.

But Shane McClanahan has been a star in the making for quite some time now. Here are 2 reasons why he is the filthiest pitcher in MLB.

2 Reasons Shane McClanahan is MLB's Filthiest Starting Pitcher

Lethal 4-Pitch Mix

Shane McClanahan relies on 4 pitches that often leave batters shaking their heads in disbelief.

He features an elite fastball from the left-side. His heater is consistently clocked in the high 90's and can even reach 100 MPH. McClanahan, as most pitchers do, throws his fastball the most. He utilizes the pitch around 37 percent of the time.

But his curveball is what balances everything out. It is his lowest velocity pitch but also his most used breaking ball, implementing it around 26 percent of the time. The pitch is absolutely nasty. It breaks in on right-handed batters and ties them up in knots. They often find themselves getting jammed or swinging through the pitch. It breaks away from left-handers and they end up chasing it out of the zone.

He can also catch batters looking as displayed in the following clip.

Shane McClanahan's changeup is an interesting pitch. It sits in the high-80's to low-90s but still represents an 8-12 MPH drop off from his blazing fastball. Many “changeups” in today's game are reminiscent of the average velocity of fastballs from 25 years ago. But McClanahan's changeup also offers some movement which causes hitters to flail at the delivery.

And finally, the slider. Shane's slide piece breaks away from lefties with a ton of movement. It also sits in the high 80's to low 90's and works well when combined with his slow curveball.

 

Tunneling Action

Shane McClanahan possesses the ability to “tunnel” his pitches. In other words, all of his pitches look similar when coming out of his hand. But they tend to go in different directions when crossing the plate. Check out some of these overlays from Rob “Pitching Ninja” Friedman.

Shane McClanahan could find himself in the Cy Young conversation if he continues his dominance on the mound.