Stallings played himself into the starting job — and a new contract.
You’re reading the 2024 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at the season had by every player to play for the Rockies in 2024. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the least amount of rWAR and end up with the player with the most.
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No. 7, Jacob Stallings (1.7 rWAR)
Last year, I spent a lot of time thinking about backup catchers after reading Tim Brown and Erik Kratz’s The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game. I wrote about Austin Wynns’ relationship to the job here, which was consistent with everything Brown and Kratz described in their book.
Below is a passage that stayed with me:
The backup catcher is, most often, the guy who was not quite good enough to be the starting catcher. But there are lots of those. The minor leagues are full of those. So are construction sites and insurance firms and high school coaching staffs and wherever glory days are warmed and served with cold beer. He is, then, also the guy who can be trusted with the fragile parts of a team, a season, and a culture. When it is darkest, he laughs. When it is easiest, he shows up an hour earlier. When the wins come and the championships follow, he stands to the side. When the season is lost and the sun seems two feet closer than it should be and nobody really wants to be doing this, he plays more.
Brown and Kratz add, “Then he’s gone. Because backup catchers also strain to hit .210, because if they hit .250 they wouldn’t be backup catchers.”
In 2024, Jacob Stallings found another gear in his approach to the plate, ultimately lifting himself out of the backup catcher job and into the starting role.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The Colorado Rockies signed Stallings back on January 5, 2023. Of the move, Evan Lang wrote,
Stallings has turned in strong defensive showings throughout most of his career, culminating in a 2021 campaign during which he was worth 21 defensive runs saved and won a Gold Glove. He’s an excellent blocker, consistently in the upper percentile for blocks above average per Baseball Savant. Stallings also owns the MLB record for consecutive games without a passed ball. During his time with the Pirates he was consistently recorded as a strong pitch framer, though admittedly those metrics took a big hit during his time in Miami.
Stallings was not exceptional at throwing runners out, and his bat was only passable, both hallmarks of a backup catcher. Rather, a backup catcher is defined by an ability to work with pitchers and young players while helping keep a team on track when things get hard.
The deal was a one-year contract for $1.5 million with a mutual option for 2025.
Stallings’ job was clear: Back-up Elias Díaz and work with a young catching staff that would include Hunter Goodman and Drew Romo.
Clearly, Stallings surpassed expectations.
Offense
First consider these Baseball Reference numbers from all seasons (with a 2020 caveat) in which Stallings appeared in at least 50 games.
Baseball Reference
In 2024, Stallings had — by far — his best offensive season, earning a 118 OPS+. (Prior to this year, he topped off at 91 in 2020 and 2021. He more than doubled his 2023 OPS+ with the Miami Marlins.)
He also had a career-best nine home runs.
Also worth noting is that Stallings did not benefit from Coors Field. His home OPS+ was 121 while his away OPS+ was 136.
Back in May, he discussed changes he’d made to his approach at the plate, based on suggestions from Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens. First, he adjusted his swing.
“I tried to short my swing a lot this offseason. worked really hard on that,” Stallings said. In addition, he began doing eye training exercises.
“Bam has known Ryan Harrison [a sports vision specialist] for a long time and brought him in in spring, and a lot of us have done stuff with him, but he just gave me some exercises and stuff to do. So I do them about five times a week and I feel like they’ve really helped.”
Both the data and the eye test indicate Stallings’ adjustments worked.
Defense
He was fine but less effective on defense.
Stallings caught 603.2 innings with seven errors, which ties him for fourth among catchers who’ve caught at least 100 innings. He had -6 DRS. (Drew Romo had two and Hunter Goodman -3.) His FRV was also below replacement-level.
In terms of catcher framing, he ranked 52nd (-7 in Catcher Framing Runs) and 42.7% in Strike Rate. His Catcher’s Caught Stealing Above Average was -2, 48th.
However, he tied for fourth with Adley Rutschman in Blocks Above Average (10), behind only Danny Jansen, Miguel Amaya, and Sean Murphy.
In short, Stallings was not remarkable behind the plate, but his ability to block wild pitches, both with an inexperienced pitching staff and while playing at elevation, indicates his defensive value.
Mentorship
Stallings was eager to work with young catchers, stressing the importance of helping them learn game planning.
“I remember my first couple games up, I was completely overwhelmed with it,” Stallings said, “So it’s just the preparation part, kind of figuring out a routine of what works for you and what helps you retain the information but not beyond information overload. That’s the hardest part, I think.”
His work with the Rockies pitching staff was equally notable, as Ryan Feltner has pointed out.
The Stallings signing was one of those Rockies deals in which the player surpassed team expectations.
Extension
Last week, the Rockies announced they had agreed to a deal with Stallings for one year and $2 million, including a $2 million mutual option for 2026 and a $500,000 buyout.
It’s difficult to imagine a happier ending for a back-up catcher.
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