When I first learned that the Mets had traded Marlon Byrd to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Vic Black and Dilson Herrera, I remember searching the internet for scouting reports on our haul and I came across an article on FanGraphs entitled Vic Black, Pirates Closer of the Future – or something like that. After reading it and before I even looked into Herrera, I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, we just made out like bandits.”
I became a huge Vic Black fan almost immediately. He had an electric four-seam fastball and a great slider that came down and in to left-handed hitters, potentially making him a solid crossover reliever in the near future. I had high hopes for him.
So it was kind of sad to hear that the Mets had outrighted him to Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday, which essentially means he was removed from the 40 man roster.
It’s a shame really, especially when you consider his 2014 season when he posted a 2.60 ERA and 1.281 WHIP in 41 appearances with a very promising 8.3 strikeout rate.
Coming off that great finish last year, Black came into Spring Training with a positive attitude and it looked like he was ready to take things up a notch. However, a herniated disc in his neck as well as a shoulder strain sent him to the DL and derailed the start of his season.
Eventually Black worked his way back and was assigned to Las Vegas where things got real ugly, real fast. He currently has a 7.94 ERA and a 2.341 WHIP in 27 appearances. He has allowed 20 earned runs on 29 hits and 24 walks in just 22.2 innings of work with seven wild pitches.
The one thing that has plagued Black throughout his professional career has been his struggles with control and an extremely high walk rate that would never cut it in the major leagues.
That has been his Kryptonite.
