Chatter on what the Miami Marlins are getting with new catcher Jacob Stallings
In part 3 of a series on the Marlins newcomers, chatter on new Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings:
▪ Catcher has haunted the organization since trading JT Realmuto to Philadelphia in 2019 for a catcher who disappointed and is no longer here (Jorge Alfaro), an elite pitching prospect who cannot seem to stay healthy (Sixto Sanchez hasn’t pitched in a game since 2020 and is now on a no-throw program with shoulder soreness) and a lefty prospect, Will Stewart, who was 5-8, 4.33 at Double A last season.
Realmuto signed a five-year, $115.5 million contract with the Phillies 15 months ago, so it’s not like Miami could have afforded him. Though he’s 32, Stallings is under team control through 2024.
There’s no question about Stallings’ defense - he won a Gold Glove last season - or his ability to call a game and handle a pitching staff, all areas that were considered shortcomings for Alfaro.
Stallings’ batting average has dropped a bit in his three years with meaningful playing time from .262 in 2019 to .248 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season to .246 last season in a career high 374 at-bats. Before last season, he never had more than 191 at-bats in a season.
The good news: His .335 on-base percentage last season ranked eighth among all catchers who played a minimum of 100 games, not that far off from Realmuto (.343).
And Stallings’ 53 RBI ranked fourth among all big-league catchers last season who played as many or fewer games as he did (112). His 20 doubles tied for eighth most among catchers, and he homered eight times.
As baseballtraderumors.com noted: “It might be tempting to assume that Stallings’ on-base percentage has benefited from hitting eighth in front of Pirates pitchers, but that’s not necessarily the case. Stallings has spent a good chunk of time in the eight spot, but he’s spent more time hitting fifth, sixth and seventh in the Pittsburgh lineup and actually has better walk rates out of those slots than he does in the eight hole.”
▪ A right-handed hitter, Stallings inexplicably hit only .200 against lefties last season (27 for 135) but .272 against right-handers (65 for 239). For his career, the disparity is much less - .247 against lefties, .257 against right-handers.
▪ He hit .257 with runners in scoring position, .269 with runners in scoring position and two outs. Both were well above the Marlins’ 2021 team average in those areas (.239, .224).
▪ Defensively is where the Marlins believe he will make his biggest mark. His 2.3 defensive-wins-over-replacement last season was second in baseball. And by catching 892 innings without a passed ball, he became the first NL catcher to achieve that since Johnny Bench in 1975.
What’s more, Stallings led the National League with 21 defensive runs saved, which tied Minnesota and then-Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa as the most by any player.
“So much of defensive improvement and being a great defender is simply the willingness to work at it,” Pirates GM Ben Cherington told MLB.com in October. “Whatever metric you want to use, it’s a pretty controllable skill if one is really willing to put the time and effort and practice.... and Jacob is an example of that.”
▪ One negative for 2021, balanced by a positive in preceding years: He threw out only 12 of 57 would-be base-stealers last season. That 21.1 percent caught stealing ranked 54th of 98 big-league catchers.
He was better in that area in 2019 (when he threw out 8 of 20/40 percent) and in 2020 (threw out 9 of 27/33 percent).
His nine men caught stealing in 2020 led all of baseball in that COVID-shortened season, and his caught stealing rate was fifth-best in MLB that year.
▪ More defensive stuff: His .995 fielding percentage was tied for sixth best in baseball. And he blocked 94.8 percent of pitches in the dirt (647 block balls to 35 wild pitches).
And there’s this: Since being named the Pirates’ starting catcher in 2020, he’s third in baseball in framing runs saved with 11.1 runs, per FanGraphs.
▪ He became a full-time starter in 2020, after being designated for assignment or demoted multiple times.
“I think what Jacob has done speaks to even if you’re down, you’re not out,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton told mlb.com in September. “Sometimes, when you get challenged by certain situations, it’s how you respond to it. I think a lot of players go through that. Hopefully, some of these guys look at Jacob and see you can work your way back and say, ‘Hey, man, I have an opportunity and I want to continue to take advantage of it.’”
Here’s part 1 of the series on Marlins newcomers, with 20 nuggets on Jorge Soler.
Here’s part 2 on Joey Wendle.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 5:38 PM.
