Arizona Fall League: Victor Black adds 2-seam fastball

Tim notices this article about Victor Black, who's adding a new pitch to his repertoire:

"I've got a new two-seamer," he said. "That pitch allows you to throw something over the plate with a little bit of movement that they don't catch like a four-seamer. So if I get behind the count, that will come in handy."

As Tim suggests, since Black is planning to use the pitch when he's behind in the count, it sounds like the goal here is probably to avoid walks. Black didn't show many obvious weaknesses this year, but if he had one, it was the fact that he had 29 walks in 60 innings. If he can cut those down at all, he'll be toxic.

Of course, the main reason we're even talking about this is that it's a painfully slow news time. It remains to be seen how much the new pitch will actually turn out to matter, and often these kinds of things don't end up mattering much at all.

By the way, I'd like to hear more about the Pirates' plans for Kyle Kaminska, who's in the Arizona Fall League along with Black right now. He pitched five shutout innings in his last start a few days ago, and since coming to the Pirates with Gaby Sanchez last July, he's quietly posted very good numbers while transitioning from relieving to starting. I haven't seen him pitch yet, so it's unclear to me whether he can make an impact in the majors as a starter, but the Pirates at least seem to see him differently than the Marlins did, which is interesting.