Stallings Stepping Up

Jake Stallings began a slow, but steady, climb through the Pirates system after he was picked in the 7th round of the 2012 draft out of the University of North Carolina. He spent small parts of the 2016-18 seasons in Pittsburgh before his battlefield promotions became permanent due to injuries. And now, with Francisco Cerveli and Elias Diaz gone altogether, Stallings would appear to be the de facto #1 catcher although signee Luke Maile and invitees JR Murphy and Andrew Susac all have some major league experience. We talked, among other things, about his increasing role, pitch framing and the all-important umpire relations.