Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 Grade Report: Catchers
Prior to the 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates catching situation was a major question. You had Jacob Stallings taking over the reins as the team's starting catcher for the first time in his Major League career. Behind him, there was no depth with Christian Kelley and Jason Delay being the next men up for the back-up catcher's role. New General Manager Ben Cherrington addressed the situation right away by signing two veteran back-up catchers in John Ryan Murphy and Andrew Susac to create some competition in Spring Training. When all was said and done Stallings won the starting catcher job and Murphy was the back-up with Susac being the third option in satellite camp.
Turns out that this was one of the strongest position groups for the Pirates this season. Stallings was not only one of the top defensive catchers in the league, but he ranked near the top of several offensive categories as well. Murphy was an acceptable Major League back-up providing strong defense and getting the bat on the ball every now and then. It was also one of the few position groups that weren't impacted by the injury bug with both Stallings and Murphy staying healthy for a majority of the season, Stallings got hurt on the last day of the season. The Pirates only required three catchers throughout the season and the main one had a breakout year to lead the group.
Jacob Stallings: Primary Catcher
Before the 2020 season, everyone knew that Jacob Stallngs was going to be the starting catcher for the Pirates. He earned it after a strong end to the 2019 season both offensively and defensively, which garnered much praise from the pitchers he worked with. However, he followed that up with another strong season in 2020 that proved the 30-year-old rookie could play in the Big Leagues. Stallings finished the season hitting .248 with three home runs and 18 RBI in 42 games played. An offensive slump right at the end of the season caused his average to drop, but he was hitting in the 260s for a majority of the season.
Not only did Stallings hit the ball well, but he did it in key situations during the game. Stallings would hit .276 with 13 RBI with runners in scoring position, ranking him fifth on the team in that category. One of Stallings's biggest moments of the season, and his career, came against the Chicago Cubs on September 22nd. After starting pitcher Steven Brault threw six hitless innings, Stallings came up with the game on tied in the bottom of the ninth. After working the count to 2-2, Stallings lifted his first career walk-off home run over the left-field wall and gave the Pirates a 3-2 win. It was a great capper to Stallings's first season as a full-time catcher.
While his offense was good, the part of the game that Stallings really excelled at was his work behind the plate. He logged the most innings of any Major League catcher this season, with 345.1 innings caught, and committed just four errors for a .990 fielding percentage. He got over half of the pitches thrown to him called a strike this season and compiles the fourth next runs extra strikes in the League with three. One aspect of his defensive game that came as a surprise was his ability to manage base runners. Out of 27 stolen base attempts, Stallings was able to throw out 33% of would-be base runners (9 of 27). His pop time is the key to his success as he gets the ball to second base in under two seconds and to third base in under a second and a half. Look for Stallings to be in the Gold Glove conversation this season, and back behind the plate in 2021.
John Ryan Murphy: Back-Up Catcher
When he signed with the Pirates on January 10th, 2020, there was no clear path for John Ryan Murphy to the Major Leagues. Stallings was the clear number one option, and off-season signing Luke Maile was slated to be the back-up. It was that way all the way up until Spring Training 2.0 when Maile suffered a broken finger ending his season. It was now a battle between Murphy and Susac for the back-up catcher spot, and Murphy's experience would help him win out. In limited time, he started to show some offensive promise hitting .273 and 2 RBI through five games, but he would come back to earth by seasons end. He finished the year hitting .172 with those two RBI in 58 games played.
What Murphy was signed for was his defensive ability and he did that well throughout the season, he had a .988 fielding percentage during the year and threw out 30.7% of would-be base runners (4-14). However, the thing that Murphy excelled at more than Stallings was his ability to stop pass balls. Murphy did not allow a passed ball in 159.2 innings of work and did a nice job of getting in front of low pitches. He was also involved in three double plays throughout the season. Perhaps, the biggest contribution Murphy had to the Pirates this season was his skills he passed down to Stallings. He helped him develop from a first time starting catcher to one of the best mascots in the National League.
Andrew Susac: Back-up Catcher
After serving as a taxi squad player for most of the 2020 season, Andrew Susac was rewarded with his first start of the season in game 60 against the Cleveland Indians. He had four plate appearances in the game and finished 0-2 with two walks as the Pirates fell to the Indians 8-6. He was also perfect behind the plate collecting five putouts and not committing an error or allowing a passed ball during the game. Susac was one of the ultimate role players for the Pirates this season and, although he did not get into a game until the final day of the season, he helped the younger catchers develop at satellite camp and was rewarded for all his hard work.
Overall Grade: A-
This is one of the few groups on the team that deserves an A rating in my opinion. Stallings and Murphy were two of the team's most consistent players during the season and were some of the only ones to have consistent offensive numbers while playing strong defense behind the plate. Stallings proved that he has what it takes to be a full-time starting catcher. The group also helped all the young catchers in the organization as they continue to develop and grow into the pro catchers they are. What started out as one of the most looked down upon positions for the Pirates ended up turning into one of the best positions on the field.
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