SAN FRANCISCO -- The idea Oscar Marin described it, the idea came when he was watching Pirates hitters take indoor batting practice.
In a conversation with DK Pittsburgh Sports earlier this season, the Pirates' pitching coach saw the pitching machine pump in high fastballs at the top of the zone. It's necessary practice because so many pitchers across the league attack batters that way. Ideally, a high-velocity, high-spin four-seamer will give the illusion of rise, so throwing them up in the zone plays off of that movement.
As this rise in four-seamers was happening during the later-half of the last decade, the Pirates stuck primarily with sinkers and two-seamers, pitches the staff had great success with as a staff during their playoff years from 2013-2015.