Jacob Daniel Stallings (born December 22, 1989) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the Miami Marlins of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. In 2021, Stallings won the Gold Glove Award and Fielding Bible Award. After the 2021 season, the Pirates traded Stallings to Miami.

Amateur career

Stallings attended Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee, and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the North Carolina Tar Heels. In 2009 and 2010, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Cincinnati Reds selected Stallings in the 42nd round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

, but he did not sign, and returned to North Carolina for his senior year. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the seventh round of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto ...

and he signed. Jacob Stallings (090615-F-7797P-003) (cropped)

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Stallings made his professional debut that same year with the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. T ...

where he batted .230/.324/.332 in 66 games. He also played in one game for the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

at the end of the season. In 2013, he played for the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

where he hit .219 with six home runs and 23 RBIs in 78 games, and in 2014, he returned to Bradenton where he batted .241 with four home runs and 30 RBIs in 68 games. Stallings spent 2015 with Altoona where he slashed .275/.313/.370 with three home runs and 32 RBIs in 74 games. He began the 2016 season with the Indianapolis Indians. Stallings was called up to the majors for the first time on June 19, 2016. Stallings recorded his first major league hit, a double, on June 21 against the San Francisco Giants. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on July 5, and outrighted to back to Indianapolis after clearing waivers. In 80 games for Indianapolis, he hit .214/.252/.350 with six home runs and 28 RBIs. Stallings was recalled again by the Pirates on September 13. On September 23, he had a game-winning RBI single in the Pirates' 6–5 win over the Washington Nationals. He was outrighted on November 2, 2016. In 2017, Stallings spent a majority of the season with Indianapolis, slashing .301/.358/.431 with four home runs and 38 RBIs in 62 games. He also played in five games for Pittsburgh. He began 2018 with Indianapolis, and was recalled by the Pirates on June 10. On September 17, he had a game-winning RBI single in the Pirates 7–6 win over the Kansas City Royals. In 2018 with Pittsburgh he batted 216/.268/.216. He was outrighted off the roster on May 17, 2019. In 2020, Stallings batted .248/.326/.376 for the Pirates with three home runs and 18 RBIs. He had the slowest time from home plate to first base of all major leaguers, at 5.09. On July 17, 2021, Stallings hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

9–7, the third walk-off grand slam in

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 MLB season, after the controlled implosion of the Pira ...

history. Stallings finished the 2021 season batting .246/.335/.369 with eight home runs and 53 RBIs in 113 games. He won the Gold Glove Award and Fielding Bible Award that year.

Miami Marlins

On November 29, 2021, the Pirates traded Stallings to the Miami Marlins for Zach Thompson and minor leaguers

Kyle Nicolas Kyle Todd Nicolas (born February 22, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023. Amateur career Nicolas grew up in Massillon, Ohio and attended Jacks ...

and

Connor Scott Connor Bryant Scott (born October 8, 1999) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Amateur career Scott attended Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played four years of varsit ...

. His salary for the 2022 season was decided in an arbitration hearing on June 18. He requested $3.1 million, and was awarded $2.45 million.

Personal life

His father, Kevin Stallings, was formerly the head basketball coach of Illinois State, Vanderbilt, and the

Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's basketball team co ...

teams.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stallings, Jacob 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Lawrence, Kansas Baseball players from Kansas Major League Baseball catchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Miami Marlins players Gold Glove Award winners North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players Chatham Anglers players State College Spikes players Altoona Curve players Bradenton Marauders players Indianapolis Indians players