Texas Rangers Reinforce Confidence in All-Star After Sluggish Season

The Texas Rangers have brought in help at a key position but believe that last year’s starter will have the type of year he had in 2023.

Sep 13, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim (28) is pictured in the dugout before a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Catcher could be the hardest position to find, nurture and develop in professional baseball — only because few bring all of the qualities to the position.

Some are effective defensive catchers that can call a great game and bail their battery mate out of bad pitches. Some are offensive threats but aren’t the most effective receivers.

It’s hard to find both in one player. Add in the fact that Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim is a switch-hitter, and you have a player the Rangers want on the field as much as possible.

It’s possible Heim has been on the field too much the past two seasons, which is why the Rangers are taking a different approach this season.

Heim has caught 131 games each of the past two seasons, along with 121 games in 2022. He also caught every game of Texas’ 2023 World Series run, which included 17 games. He did all of that while playing through a tendon sheath injury.

After an All-Star and Gold Glove season in 2023, his offense dipped last year, as did his defense. The Rangers provided plenty of feedback to Heim in the offseason, something that has manager Bruce Bochy excited.

“He was good and receptive and now he's putting he's putting in the work,” he said. “I'm excited about where he's at I look forward to watching him play this year. I think we're gonna see a different player. You know, he's still one of the best catchers in the game.”

Last year Heim slashed .220/.267/.336/.602 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI. Defensively, Heim was No. 65 on Statcast’s defensive catching leaderboard. He was minus-7 in caught stealing average and only threw out 12% of baserunners.

The difference was stark. In 2023 he slashed .258/.317/.438/.755 with 18 home runs and 95 RBI. Behind the plate he was sixth on the Statcast leaderboard with a plus-5 caught stealing average and threw out 29% of baserunners.

The Rangers gave Heim feedback on everything from his swing to positioning behind the plate. The soon-to-be 30-year-old has a reputation for making effective adjustments.

But the biggest help may be that the Rangers have a capable backup now. Texas signed Kyle Higashioka in the offseason. The Rangers have talked about the pair being a tandem, but Higashioka has never played more than 92 games in a season. But, the 34-year-old is an effective receiver and has enough slug to play a couple of days a week.

That, more than anything, may give Heim’s offensive numbers a boost, something the Rangers would welcome as they try to return to the World Series.

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