Stallings ready to guide next generation of Pirates

Jacob Stallings would call himself “experienced” rather than “old.” To be fair, at 31, you’d be hard pressed to find many professions where that does constitute as old.

But for the 2021 Pirates? Yeah, 31 is old -- or experienced -- comparatively speaking. Of the 70 players in Pirate City, he is the oldest, eight days the senior to newly-signed lefty Tyler Anderson.

It could be worse. A couple years ago when he was still in the minors, he thought he would be getting into coaching around 31, not gearing up for his second season as the Pirates’ starting catcher.

Now it’s time to put that experience to use. 

“The leadership piece has kind of fallen on me,” Stallings said during a Zoom call from Pirate City Thursday. “Not by default, but as I’ve become the starter and gotten more experience, with that comes respect from teammates and other guys. It’s something I really enjoy doing.”

There’s a lot of areas for mentorship right now. Of the 24 pitchers on the active roster, eight were acquired this offseason (nine if you count Jose Soriano, who was placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday), and another four joined the Major League team midseason last year. The two catchers vying for the backup job, Michael Perez and Tony Wolters, are both new to the organization. He knew about Wolters, but the only time he had really seen Perez was when he watched Tyler Glasnow starts when he was with the Rays. And don’t forget the younger prospects like Quinn Priester and Nick Gonzales, who are taking advantage of some extra time around Major League coaches, but could be in Pittsburgh within the next couple years.

Oh, and everyone’s broken into four smaller groups so they can abide by the health and safety protocols. There’s a lot to do and a lot of people to get to know with not a lot of time to do it before the Pirates’ first spring training game on Feb. 28.

“There's a lot of new faces are out here, for sure,” Stallings said. “I gotta get to know these guys. I watched video… It's challenging. We saw three good guys go, guys I was really close to. So spring training certainly is going to be challenging because we're in groups right now and so I don't even see some guys some days.”

It’s a lot to ask, but Stallings is up for it. Not just because he’s the experienced guy, but because he was once passed down this information and mentorship, too. When he was young, veteran catchers like Chris Stewart and Erik Kratz helped him when he was “completely overwhelmed,” leaving an impression.

“They kind of took me under their wing and helped me out, so I know how impactful that type of voice can be,” Stallings said.

Those players had good, long Major League careers, with Stewart playing parts of 12 Major League seasons and Kratz 11. All three were defensive oriented catchers who saved a lot of runs with their pitch framing. The catcher role has evolved since those two first played, and with teams valuing receiving skills more, Stallings got an opportunity they never did.

After being mostly a part-time player in the minors, Stallings was named the starter for the first time in the Majors last year. (Not that it was needed, but Derek Shelton affirmed Thursday that Stallings is the starter for this season, too.) 

In that first turn as an everyday player, Stallings led the National League in innings caught, finished second for the Gold Glove, had an OPS (.702) that was a touch better than the league average catcher had (.695) and was named team MVP.

The follow up is easy: Now do it over a 162-game season. He’s never caught more than 700 innings in a season, so he is once again gearing up to head into uncharted territory.

“162 is obviously a lot different than 60, but one of my big takeaways from last year was, I was really happy with how well my body held up,” Stallings said. “And how good I felt, especially being in quarantine pretty much all summer, my workouts weren’t what they would normally be to any extent. My body really held up well. I felt good. So I was really encouraged about that. I don’t think anything will change.”

Shelton and the Pirates' front office had enough faith in Stallings to give him the nod last year. This time around, Shelton believes there will be more “comfort and conversation” between the second year starter and second year pitching coach Oscar Marin.

“What I mean by that is last year Oscar and Jacob were finding their groove in terms of what they would talk about in game, what they would talk about pregame, what each one of them wanted,” Shelton explained. “I think you find that and it's more comfort in conversation now.”

Those conversations should continue for years to come. The Pirates only have one catching prospect within their top 30, Endy Rodriguez, but the 20-year-old backstop is a few years away from the Majors. It’s Stallings’ job for the next couple years.

His preparation is the same as it has been, but he’s also keeping the club’s long-term plans in focus. 

“I’m trying to go out there every day and win and do everything I can to win,” Stallings said. “But, obviously, we’ve gotten rid of some experienced guys and some really good players, so I think my mentality has changed from the standpoint that I have to have probably more of an emphasis on helping these guys develop and getting these up to speed as quickly as we can.”