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Let’s take a second to appreciate Jacob Stallings
Quietly, Jacob Stallings has been excellent for the Pirates this season. The team’s backup catcher started the series finale on Thursday. On top of guiding the pitching staff to a shutout, he also had his first career three hit game.
In Thursday’s game Stallings was 3-for-3 with a walk. On top of being his first career three hit game, he also hit his first MLB home run in Thursday’s 10-0 victory.
Yes, it’s a small sample size, but in 45 plate appearances this season Stallings owns a .341/.400/.439 slash line. This includes a strong 8.9% walk rate and a wRC+ of 117. Mix in his defensive prowess and Stallings has become a strong backup to Diaz.
Stallings has also drawn raves from the Pirate pitching staff for the work he does with them. Not just his work behind the dish while catching, but also talking with them about tendencies he notices or picks up on when he is not catching.
When Francisco Cervelli returns from the injured list the Pirates are going to be facing a dilemma. Stallings is out of minor league options and, therefore, can not be optioned back to Triple-A. While he cleared waivers when he was designated for assignment earlier this season, the odds of this happening again with the way he is currently playing is about zero.