Rangers Have Veteran Catching Tandem Skip Schumaker is Excited About

ARLINGTON, Texas — Finding one catcher that can hit consistently is hard enough in Major League Baseball. The Texas Rangers have two.

Granted, it’s early in the season, but Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said on Saturday that he’s happy with how Danny Jansen and Kyle Higashioka have performed offensively through nine games.

“I’ve never had two really good catchers behind the plate that I was excited to see at the plate offensively,” Schumaker said.

It’s still a tandem, but Jansen has gotten more starts than Higashioka entering Monday’s game with the Seattle Mariners. Jansen will be behind the plate for the opener.

The Rangers’ Flourishing Catching Tandem

Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka talks to pitcher Jack Leiter during a game — Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka talks to pitcher Jack Leiter. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jansen has played in six games and has slashed .250/.250/.458 with two doubles, a home run and six RBI. That home run was in Baltimore, and it was a big one in ensuring a Rangers victory on that road trip.

Higashioka hasn’t flashed as much power, but he’s slashed .273/.385/.273 in four games, with two walks and three strikeouts. He’s shown more plate discipline than Jansen to this point, who has six strikeouts and no walks.

But two catchers that can hit is a luxury. Two catches that can handle a staff with two aces like Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, along with rising stars like Jack Leiter and MacKenzie Gore, is even better.

Jansen is proving why the Rangers have pursued him before and why he was signed to a two-year deal in the offseason. Even though Texas is his fifth team in three seasons, he’s quickly adapted to handling the pitching staff. He said during spring training that being a two-time trade deadline acquisition for two teams helped him learn how to quickly get to know a pitching staff.

Higashoika had his experience last year to lean on with the pitching staff. But, between himself and Jansen, he had the better offensive year in 2025. He slashed .241/.291/.403 with 11 home runs 47 RBI. He was hitting well enough to occasionally fill in at DH with Jonah Heim behind the plate. He may do less of that this season with Andrew McCutchen now the right-handed DH.

Jansen slashed .215/.321/.399 but still hit 14 home runs. It was his fourth season with 10 or more home runs in the last five campaigns. Texas would like to see him closer to his 2022 numbers, when he slashed .260/.339/.516 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI.

It’s still early, but the pair have proven to be a solid combo that have earned the respect of their manager with their bats and their gloves.