Jacob Stallings Can’t Keep the Future on Hold Anymore

Jacob Stallings was in his early 20s when he was the starting catcher for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Reaching the major leagues wasn’t on his mind then; it wasn’t the be-all and end-all. Coaches told him that he could possibly reach that level because of his defensive skills behind the plate, but it was a long shot in his eyes.

Fast forward to now, at 30 years old, Stallings is the primary catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in an abbreviated 2020 season.

He cracked the major league club’s Opening Day roster for a second consecutive year since being selected by the Pirates in the seventh round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. The Kansas-born backstop made his major league debut in 2016 but spent most of the last four seasons hopping between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.

So, after eight seasons in the minor leagues, making the Opening Day roster was once again the goal. He did even better. On Friday, July 24, Stallings became the first homegrown catcher to make an Opening Day start for the Pirates since Ryan Doumit in 2011.

“[Those years in the minors] were definitely challenging, for sure, going up and down as many times as I did. As I think back, making my debut in 2016 was obviously exciting and unexpected for me,” Stallings said. “I think it would have been a lot harder if Indy wasn't such a great place to play, but I loved Indy. I loved playing there, so to make the constant back and forth was a lot easier to handle.”

As spring training 1.0 ramped up toward what would have been Opening Day on March 26, Stallings was hoping to at least break camp with the Pirates. He hit .350 in eight Grapefruit League games and started behind the plate in seven of those contests, giving him a good look at what his future could hold. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing Major League Baseball to postpone its upcoming season for the foreseeable future.

He retreated to his Nashville home with his wife and two daughters and awaited the green light to begin summer camp with his teammates. Stallings was able to do some catching drills from his home, but working on his physicality proved tougher than anything else.

Tennessee gyms were closed in compliance with the state’s stay-at-home orders due to the alarming rates of coronavirus cases. The weight room in PNC Park was roughly 560 miles away from Nashville, while LECOM Park, the Pirates’ spring training facility, was nearly 750 miles. So, he resorted to the one place that would allow him to get in his weightlifting reps: his parents’ basement.

“My parents just had dumbbells up to 60 pounds, so I was just doing anything and everything that I could to make little workouts out of that. Lunges and just kind of being creative so it didn't get monotonous,” Stallings said. “There were some days where it was tough to motivate myself in that basement but hopefully, I see some of the rewards this year.”

The regular-season hiatus was less about adding muscle rather than maintaining the strength he had already built. The dumbbells in a basement were a far cry from a typical weightlifting program, and the sports blackout soon became a juggling act of staying in shape for whenever MLB decided to start the season and fighting off worries of what a year without baseball could mean for his career.

As negotiations went back and forth between MLB and the Players Association to start a season that was plagued by the pandemic, the possibility of expanded rosters meant that Stallings was most likely going to get his shot at reaching the big leagues on a full-time basis. But instead of being a backup catcher, the Pirates were planning to have Stallings as their primary backstop.

“Going into each of the last couple seasons of being the third guy or the second guy due to injury, this is exciting,” Stallings said. “I just want to play well and win some games. Take advantage of the opportunity and be a good teammate and a good catcher to all of our guys.”

This is first time that Stallings has been in conversations to be a starter for the Pirates in his career. He’s suited up 95 times for Pittsburgh across four seasons, with only 83 of those appearances being behind the plate. In 2019 he appeared in 71 games – 61 behind the plate – and hit for a .262 batting average with six home runs and 13 RBI. He ended the season tied for third in the league with San Francisco Giants All-Star Buster Posey with 14 defensive runs saved among catchers. A scoreless inning of relief against the St. Louis Cardinals in the Pirates’ 14-8 loss on July 24, 2019 even has his career ERA on the mound at 0.00.

2020 will be different, like it’s already proven to be. The 60-game sprint to the finish line and the 16-team expanded playoffs leave any possibility up in the air as to how the year will play out for Stallings and the Pirates.

Making an Opening Day roster as a franchise’s primary catcher wasn’t part of Stallings’ plans when he suited up with the likes of Kyle Seager and Matt Harvey at UNC Chapel Hill. He’s approached his career by planning for the next day, which now involves watching videos of the major league hitters the Pirates will face and devise a plan of attack in and around the strike zone.

“I was fortunate in that I never really worried about the future. I was always where my feet were and just focused on getting better,” Stallings said. “I don't think it's something I can appreciate as much while I'm in it right now because so much of the focus is on getting better. When I'm done playing, I'll be able to look back and hopefully be proud of my career.”

In his second MLB Opening Day, batting in the eighth spot as the starting catcher, Stallings was the Pirates offensive and defensive force against the Cardinals. He prevented a run from scoring on an errant throw to third, threw out speedster Tommy Edman on a stolen-base attempt, and his two-run single in the seventh inning vs. Jack Flaherty were the first runs of the game for Pittsburgh.

In what has been a weird 2020, Stallings has been given an opportunity by the big-league club. It appears he’s ready to run with it.