MESA, Ariz. – New Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart surprised rookie Hayden Wesneski after their first bullpen together. As they went over the session, Barnhart told Wesneski it was about what the veteran backstop had expected.
Barnhart had already talked with Cubs pitching coaches and catcher Yan Gomes, who is in his second year with the club, about Wesneski’s best pitches and where to set up for each pitches to get the most out of the rookie right-hander.
“It blew me away to think that the first bullpen I threw in spring, he already knew all about me,” Wesneski said, “before even meeting the guy.”
It was clear coming into Cubs spring training camp that Barnhart had spent the time since his signing getting familiar with his new pitching staff.
He’d gone through this process before, both with individual pitchers and most recently when the Reds traded him to the Tigers before last season. Anytime a catcher is learning an entirely new pitching staff, it’s going to take time, and some level of trial and error. But Barnhart is going through the process this year with the extra pressure of the new pitch clock.
“The stuff that you see from afar has just stood out even more seeing him on a daily basis,” manager David Ross said. “His passion for his craft, the work ethic, the investment in the pitchers on and off the field, those are the things that have really stood out to me.”
Barnhart started with looking up the starters’ pitch usage and typical sequencing. Having played in the NL Central for most of his career, he had a head start on Jameson Taillon, a former Pirate, and longtime Cub Kyle Hendricks, who is expected to start the season on the injured list. But facing them gave Barnhart, a left-handed hitter, only a partial picture of their tendencies.
He also wanted to know what his pitchers like to throw against a right-handed hitter in a two-strike count, for example.
“When we get out there and we’re talking, I want to have a little bit of ammo to be able to hold a conversation, not just sit there and blankly stare and listen,” he said in a conversation with the Sun-Times on Sunday. “I’d like to give some sort of input, if there is any.”
That’s how Barnhart ended up texting Taillon screenshots of his scouting reports in January, when the right-handed was sitting on a beach in Mexico sipping a margarita.
“We’re not the same,” Taillon quipped when he told the story at Cubs Convention about a week later.
After Barnhart’s initial research, he had multiple Zoom calls with Gomes and catching coach Craig Driver. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy held a call with all the pitching coaches and catchers a little over a month before spring training, and they all went over the staff.
Some things, however, don’t translate over video clips or through scouting reports. Learning what makes a pitcher tick requires time spent off the field, in group dinners or golf outings. And learning the “warning signs” that a pitcher is feeling off takes catching him in games.
“Once you form that vision of who that certain guy is, you’re able to hit the ground running,” Barnhart said. “Specifically with where their misses are when they’re not going well, you’re able to help steer them back into the right lane.”
Getting there requires repetition. And the pitch clock leaves little room for reflection in-game.
During Drew Smyly’s first start with Barnhart behind the dish, the lefty noticed himself shaking to more pitches than he expects to in the regular season – it’s all a part of the process. But going through multiple signs quickly winds down the clock.
“Going into the hitter, you almost have to have two or three pitches, a sequence, ready to go,” Barnhart said.
Then, there are the intricate new rules that come with the clock. Catchers can call timeout with runners on base and use one of the pitcher’s disengagements. But a catcher can’t call time when the bases are empty unless he takes a mound visit – which Barnhart found out the hard way.
“I like the clock a lot, it just feels pretty sped up right now,” Barnhart said. “But I think we’ll get used to it as we go.”
Barnhart’s wealth of experience has helped smooth the transition in other ways. Cubs pitchers have already raved about his feel for the game. Taillon pointed out that when he landed a couple curveballs early in his second start of the spring, Barnhart kept going back to the pitch. Smyly commended Barnhart on his communication, always asking pitchers about their sequencing preferences.
“He already knows everything about everybody,” Wesneski said. “And then he understands where people miss, so then he helps them and tries to steal strikes. There’s so many things that he does that make him a pro, it’s incredible.”
As Barnhart has gotten to know his pitchers better, ironically, Wesneski has surprised him the most. Not anything about his pitches – like Barnhart told the rookie after their first bullpen, he had a good sense for all that coming in.
“It’s kind of more the way he asks questions and what questions he’s asking,” Barnhart said. “And it just feels like he’s mature above his years.”
