Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Ronny Paulino has come a long way since this time a year ago when he was a distant No. 3 in the Pirates' catching world.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- It can be a simple quiver of the shoulder that sends the message.

Or a slight delay in returning the baseball.

Or, when nothing else will suffice, a no-punches-pulled visit to the mound.

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However it is delivered, by all accounts, it comes across loud and clear when Ronny Paulino communicates with the Pirates' pitchers.

"It's a communication that married couples do," closer Salomon Torres said. "You know when you're in trouble and other people are around, and your wife is letting you know you're in trouble? Ronny's the same way. When he wants you to throw a pitch and you don't want to throw it, he'll give you that look that says, 'You'd better do it.' "

Or else ...

"You don't want him coming to visit you out there," Torres continued. "This is a large man."

That approach from the catcher, without question, is how manager Jim Tracy prefers it.

"Your catcher has to be the leader of the staff, and there is no question in my mind or anyone else's that Ronny Paulino is the leader of this staff," Tracy said. "Anyone who is around our clubhouse knows this."

That begins, as Tracy and others point out, with Paulino making pitching his priority.

He batted .310 last season, highest average for any rookie catcher with 100 or more at-bats since Mike Piazza in 1993. He threw out 32 percent of runners attempting to steal, his total of 38 caught stealings leading the National League. And he had shortcomings, too, particularly on defense, any of which might have consumed someone else.

But those closest to Paulino insist his focus never wavered from the pitchers.

"That's just how I've always thought about the game," said Paulino, 25. "The biggest part of the game is the pitching, and the biggest part of my job is handling the pitchers."

It starts with intense studying, not only of the Pirates' pitchers but also of the hitters they are facing. He often is among the first to the clubhouse on a game day, usually seated before a laptop alongside that evening's starter. And he is a vocal participant in all daily meetings related to pitching.

"This guy's right in the middle of all of it," Tracy said. "And that's why he's always on the same page with the pitchers."

Some of that goes beyond studying, according to bench coach Jim Lett, the man responsible for instructing the Pirates' catchers.

"There's a bit of a sixth sense to it, and a lot of guys don't have it," Lett said. "You can work into it, but some guys just have it naturally. They can just feel their way through what a pitcher's doing. To have it to Ronny's extent ... that's not really something you can coach."

And the result?

"You don't see the pitcher shaking him off much."

For all Paulino has achieved in this regard and others, though, there remains considerable room for improvement, at the plate and behind it.

His.310 average -- including a .339 mark against left-handers that ranked fifth in the National League -- might have been the Pirates' most pleasant surprise last season, ranking even above Freddy Sanchez's batting title. Paulino had topped .300 just once in eight minor-league seasons and entered spring training last year as a distant No. 3 on the catching depth chart behind Ryan Doumit and Humberto Cota.

Still, for someone who is a barrel-chested 6 feet 2, 245 pounds, he showed little power: Only 25 of his 137 hits -- 19 doubles and six home runs -- went for extra bases.

"As I say all the time, power is the last thing to come," Tracy said. "This young man has it."

"I'm not worried about power or the average," Paulino said. "I was seventh or eighth in the order most of the time, so I knew we just needed a hit, not a home run. And the average ... I don't think about .350 or .320. I just want to make sure I'm getting that hit when we need it, when it makes a difference."

That much he did effectively: His 55 RBIs ranked fourth on the Pirates, and he batted .346 with runners in scoring position, .444 with the bases loaded.

"Time and time again, this guy got us the big hit," Tracy said. "And he's going to get even better there."

Defensively, Paulino was efficient in throwing out runners, but that did little to mask 11 errors and nine passed balls for a .978 fielding percentage that was among the league's lowest.

Although Paulino was charged with just one error in his final 43 games, no one associated with the Pirates -- Paulino included -- was pleased with that aspect of his play.

"I'm sure I'll be better behind the plate this year," Paulino said. "Way better."

"He can get much better, and we're going to work very hard to make sure that happens," Tracy said. "This is a big man, and this is mostly a matter of improved footwork. We've got ideas for a lot of things we're going to do with Ronny this spring."

"It's just a matter of him working on his agility back there," Lett said. "He's got a bright future defensively."

Paulino's future certainly looks to be as a fixture in the lineup, given not only how he performed last season but also how passionately management feels about him. Perhaps the most powerful example: Neil Walker, the franchise's one-time designated catcher of the future, has been moved to third base this spring, largely because of Paulino's shadow over home plate.

Still, there is no sign of complacency on Paulino's part.

"Not at all. I have to win the job again. I have to get better," he said. "We all do. I look back at the team we had in the first half of last season and what happened in the second half and I just ... I look at myself to keep getting better the way we all did."

The pitchers, too, of course.

"We have a lot of challenges still. Our staff got better, but hitters around the league are going to make adjustments. We have to do the same thing."