Reds vs Pirates: Preview, pitching matchups and prediction

Patience paying off for the Bucs and Jacob Stallings

No one is ever going to accuse Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings of being an overnight success. It’s been a long and winding road for the 30-year-old backstop, but he just might have finally laid claim to the catching position in Pittsburgh.

Originally a 42nd-round pick of the Reds in the 2011 MLB Draft, Stallings decided to return to the University of North Carolina instead of signing with Cincinnati and it was a smart decision. The following year he was a seventh-round selection of the Pirates. However, Stallings never appeared in more than 15 games in a Pirates uniform until 2019, his age 29 season.

During his 71 game audition last summer, Jacob Stallings made the most of his opportunity. He slashed .262./325./382 with six homers and 13 RBIs in 191 at-bats. Even more impressive, Stallings gunned down 40% of would-be base stealers which was well above the 26% league average last year.

This year he’s been even better. Slashing .303/.391/.395 with a homer and 12 knocked in, Stallings is once again making the opponents running game virtually nonexistent by nailing 43% of potential base robbers. Run at your own risk this weekend Redlegs.

Who knows if Stallings will ever be an All-Star, but he seems like the kind of guy you root for. It’s been a slow and I’m sure frustrating trip through the Pirates farm system, but it appears his perseverance is finally paying dividends.