Pirates take long-term approach by sitting catcher Jacob Stallings despite his hot bat

Apr. 16—Jacob Stallings was the hottest bat in the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup, coming off a three-hit, three-RBI game when manager Derek Shelton removed his catcher from the starting lineup the following day.

Despite Stallings batting .500 over a five-game stretch, Shelton had scheduled a day off for Stallings on Wednesday night to give him a rest before the Pirates played a matinee Thursday at PNC Park.

What solidified Shelton's plan to give Stallings "a very deserved day off" was Tuesday's 8-4 win over the San Diego Padres, for which he was behind the plate for 190 pitches, including 13 walks, three hit batsmen and two wild pitches. No wonder Shelton said Stallings "felt the effects of a four-hour game" the next day.

The downside to the decision is Stallings was amid a five-game stretch where he was 8 for 16 and coming off a game in which he went 3 for 4 with a double, a walk and three RBIs.

"Anytime you have guys that are swinging the bat well, it's challenging to take (them) out of the lineup," Shelton said. "I think that's the one thing we have to be smart — I have to be smart — about is when we stay disciplined to when we're going to give a guy a day off that we have to give it to him. Just for the fact that if we don't, the reason they're doing the things they're doing, they're going to lose because they're going to get tired. So we have to be thoughtful of that."

It backfired a bit, as backup Michael Perez was still searching for his first hit when he got the start against the Padres on Wednesday night and went 0 for 2 with a walk and a hit by pitch in the 5-1 win. Stallings returned to the lineup Thursday, only to snap his streak by going 0 for 3 with a walk in the 8-3 loss.

Stalling said after the Cincinnati series, he honed in on his approach at the plate and believes he is in a good position to hit and his swing is on time. It's working, as Stallings is slashing .303/.452/.424 with four doubles and six RBIs while starting 10 of the first 13 games. In 42 games last year, he batted .248 with seven doubles, three homers and 18 RBIs but followed a hot August (.392) with a chilly September (.158).

"I try to be ready to play every day," Stallings said. "Some days I expect it more than others, but I think you guys know me: I'm never going to say that I don't want to play unless I physically can't. So any time I can go out and play a major league baseball game, then I'm going to give it my best."

But Shelton also is looking at the long term with Stallings. That starts with the 10-day, nine-game road trip after the first homestand. The plan is based on a 162-game season instead of the shortened 60-game schedule last year, when Stallings was a Gold Glove finalist in his first opportunity to be a starting catcher.

That's why Shelton advised Stallings to train for this season as if he is going to catch every day, including scheduled night-day games, in anticipation of greater wear and tear on his body. In his first five major league seasons, Stallings played in 137 total games. This season, he is on pace to catch 125 games.

"I think the challenge of him taking care of his body," Shelton said. "Not to say that he didn't take care of his body before, but people that say they want to catch every day don't realize what the grind of it is. One of the conversations that we had was, 'If you want to be that guy, how you take care of yourself, what you do is really important.' ... The challenge for Jake was what you do to prepare and how you take care of your body, and he's done a nice job accepting that challenge."

In conferring with assistant Glenn Sherlock, who coaches the catchers, Shelton is cognizant that he also has to keep Perez fresh with consistent playing time so he is "sharp for those starts." Perez has been catching Pirates starting pitchers in bullpen sessions and also works with Sherlock on blocking drills on a regular basis. Perez got a pinch-hit single in the ninth inning against the Padres on Thursday.

Keeping both catchers ready is a balancing act for Shelton, one made easier by the fact Stallings is the son of a coach — former Pitt basketball coach Kevin Stallings — which helps him understand and process the manager's motives and challenges in difficult conversations.

"The things that we've challenged him on, and, honestly, personally that I've challenged him on, in terms of being a catcher, he's really stepped up and done," Shelton said. "And that goes back into last year. I think part of that comes from being a coach's kid. You can have very direct, open conversations with guys that grew up around sports. They understand. And in Jake's case, I definitely think that we're seeing signs of maturity, signs of leadership. He's taking to challenges that have been presented to him, and in a really positive way, and I'm proud of him."

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .