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Pittsburgh Pirates: Very Early 2022 Opening Day Lineup Preview
By Cody Flavell
Catcher: Jacob Stallings
Unless something unforeseen happens between now and Opening Day of 2022, Jacob Stallings will be back behind the dish for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Stallings is well on his way to a Gold Glove nomination following this season which would be his second in as many seasons. He is as solid as they come defensively. While he won’t be setting any catcher home run records anytime soon Stallings is still capable enough with the bat to be the a major league starting catcher.
He’s got a phenomenal rapport with the pitching staff which is huge for the plethora of young pitchers on the horizon over the next few seasons.
He will be 32-years-old when the season opens next year so he isn’t going to be around forever. The Pirates have done a solid job restocking their catcher prospect pool through the draft and trades. By the time Stallings’s play begins to decline, the Pirates will have a few options handy to replace him.
For the time being, Stallings will be the starting catcher. The bigger question will be what the Pittsburgh Pirates do to get more production out of the backup catcher position.