The latest letter from camp by Pirates beat writer Jason Mackey.
Jacob Stallings’ unexpected development last year raised many eyebrows, drew praises from pitchers
Jacob Stallings has little interest in predicting what may happen for him this season, whether the Pirates sign someone to install as their No. 1 catcher, whether they acquire a timeshare candidate or whether they do nothing and he takes the field on opening day as the primary guy.
It makes sense, too, considering that, at this time last year, Stallings was a bit part for the Pirates, an afterthought. He was, at most, No. 3 on the organizational depth chart and was designated for assignment in May.
It turned out to be an ironic — and almost hilarious — beginning to a season that concluded with Stallings producing some of the best defensive numbers in baseball, snatching the starting job and earning the universal respect of the Pirates’ pitching staff.
“I’ve kind of learned not to assume anything or take anything for granted,” Stallings said Saturday at PNC Park for PiratesFest. “It’s funny. I heard Derek Jeter say it when talking about the Hall of Fame: ‘All you think about while you’re playing is having a job and keeping a job.’ It’s so true.
“For me, I don’t think about being the starter. I had no intention of being a starting catcher in the major leagues last year. But that’s what ended up happening.”
Not only did Stallings, 30, become the Pirates’ starter, but he served as one of their few bright spots in 2019. Seeing his first extended bigleague action, he slashed .262/.325/.382 with an OPS of .708 — better than San Francisco’s Buster Posey (.688), baseball’s highest-paid catcher, and only a couple points below St. Louis’ Yadier Molina (.711), who’s one of the sports most well-respected masked men.
Stallings, the son of a coach you’d probably recognize, has always handled the defensive part of the game well, specifically blocking, throwing and game-planning, but this past season he took a gigantic step forward when it came to pitchframing.
Working primarily with former bench coach Tom Prince and bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena, Stallings dove deep into analytics to track his progress and also worked through a series of specialized drills with Comadena that helped him blur the edges of the strike zone, helping the Pirates’ pitchers.
As a result, Stallings finished 11th in pitch-framing in 2019, according to Baseball Prospectus. He was sixth in blocking and 17th in throwing, making him one of just seven catchers who finished in the top 20 of all three categories.
“I’ve always been good at blocking and throwing,” Stallings said. “Last year was really the first time that I got into the receiving metrics. The way I viewed receiving before last year was, ‘If you don’t have passed balls, you’re a good receiver.’ That’s all I really cared about. Then started diving into it more.
“I think that’s what allowed me to have better numbers.”
That and the work with Comadena.
“I’m so lucky to have him,” Stallings said. “Everything I do is ideas he’s come up with. I’m really excited to work with him and [new coach] Glenn [Sherlock] this year.”
Stallings, who threw out eight of 12 potential base-stealers, finished 11th in FanGraphs’ mark of defensive runs saved above average, another indication of his terrific work behind the plate.
Joe Musgrove probably doesn’t look those numbers much; however, he was one of several pitchers last season who asked specifically to throw to Stallings once Francisco Cervelli was sidelined with another concussion. It started with Musgrove and Chris Archer. And, as Stallings proved his value, more pitchers hopped aboard the train.
Musgrove and others took notice of how much work
Stallings put in behind the plate, often sacrificing his own offensive work for whatever the pitching staff needed from him.
“We couldn’t have been more grateful,” Musgrove said of Stallings. “The effort put in is what we appreciate more than anything. I don’t think he expected to be in the situation he was in last year, but that’s who he is.”
In discussing how much Stallings improved with his pitch-framing and the appreciation that pitchers had for his progress, Stallings almost sounded like one half of a married couple who just changed something about his or her appearance.
“When I first really started working on the receiving stuff, I would get a lot of comments from the pitchers like, ‘Hey, your receiving is getting a lot better. Have you been working on it?’ ” Stallings said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, actually I have been. Thanks for noticing.’ ”
It remains a bit of an unknown whether Stallings will be working with Luke Maile, John Ryan Murphy or somebody new. General manager Ben Cherington said Friday the Pirates remain interested in adding to the position.
An offensive upgrade probably wouldn’t hurt, although Stallings proved last year that he’s more than capable of handling MLB duty, something that wasn’t exactly expected 12 months ago at this time.
“Even before Cervelli got hurt or before the signs were showing that he might not come back, every day Jake was there,” Musgrove said. “He was studying film. He was catching bullpens. He was working with us, talking with us during games. That’s what you need. That stuff can’t just be built overnight. It can’t be made up. You have to put in the work and understand the pitchers. From the day Jake took over, he was more than prepared.”