Jonah

Heim

Heim is splitting time rather evenly with Carson Kelly at the moment, and the Rangers probably aren’t going to change much there, given that they’re out of the race and Kelly is going to be a free agent after the season anyway. Still, coming off two very solid campaigns, one of which earned him an All-Star nod, Heim has been one of MLB’s worst hitters this season, coming in at .216/.263/.330 in 441 plate appearances.

Heim took Joey Estes deep for his 12th home run and 52nd RBI of the season. It’s been a far cry from his impressive 2023 campaign and, despite the home run, Heim is not a must-roster outside of deep two-catcher formats.

Heim had started just three of nine games for the Rangers before starting these three in a row. He’s catching over Carson Kelly today after DHing last night. As for him batting third, that’s presumably because Josh Smith has the day off and Bruce Bochy doesn’t want to disrupt the rest of the lineup. Heim is batting .189/.250/.378 this month and .228/.275/.344 on the season.

It’s warranted, considering that Kelly is hitting .333/.364/.524 in seven games since coming over from Detroit. He has a .734 OPS for the season, compared to .619 for Heim.

Heim put the Rangers on the board with a three-run blast off Tanner Houck to tie the game. He later knocked a base hit in the sixth and scored on a single by Josh Smith. The 29-year-old backstop is hitting .235/.281/.351 with 10 homers and 46 RBI across 360 plate appearances.

Heim is well off last year’s All-Star pace, though his exit velocity and plate discipline numbers have held steady. Unfortunately, it’s 2023 that looks more like a fluke than 2024. He’s hitting .238/.286/.358 at the moment.

It certainly sounds like the Rangers didn’t want to take any chances with Heim’s health, especially with the All-Star break right around the corner. It’ll be Adolis García taking over at designated hitter and Derek Hill entering the lineup in right field. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

The home run was his eighth on the season to go along with 36 RBI. Heim is hitting just .247 on the season but has been hitting better of late, going 15-for-49 (.306) over his last 15 games with two home runs, nine runs scored, and five RBI. It’s not quite the numbers from last season, but it’s enough to be a fringe fantasy contributor in one-catcher leagues.

Heim was away for three days to help with the new addition to his family. Sam Huff is optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in the corresponding transaction.

The hard-hitting 28-year-old backstop will be away from the team for a few days to welcome a new addition to his family. Sam Huff was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock and will help share the load behind the plate while Heim is away.