Rangers' Jonah Heim: Set to lose work to Higashioka
Rotowire
Heim is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Heim had started six of the previous seven contests, but with Kyle Higashioka returning to the lineup Wednesday after recovering from a hamstring injury, the duo will move back into a timeshare. With a .788 OPS since the All-Star break, Higashioka has handily outproduced Heim, who has posted a .638 OPS over that same stretch.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Nabbing sixth straight start
Rotowire
Heim will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against the Royals.
Heim will be included in the lineup for a sixth straight game, but he's likely to see his playing time tail off after Kyle Higashioka returned to the starting nine behind the plate in Wednesday's 6-3 win. Before playing Wednesday, Higashioka had missed out on three consecutive starts due to a hamstring injury, and though he's out of the lineup Thursday, his absence appears to be mostly for maintenance purposes as the Rangers wrap up their series in Kansas City with a day game. Heim will head into the series finale with a four-game hitting streak, but Higashioka has been the far more productive hitter of the two catchers since the All-Star break, posting a .902 OPS to Heim's .654 mark over that same stretch.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Smashes ninth homer in win
Rotowire
Heim went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and walk in Friday's 8-3 win over Atlanta.
Heim smashed his ninth homer of the campaign and his first since June 25 in Baltimore. The switch-hitting backstop had begun to fall behind Kyle Higashioka (hamstring) for playing time behind the dish, but the former should serve as Texas' top option at catcher at least until the latter is healthy. That said, Heim owns a .681 OPS over 17 games in July, whereas Higashioka has a .963 OPS across his 13 outings this month.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Sitting in favor of Higashioka
Rotowire
Heim is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics.
Texas has been opening playing time for both Heim and Kyle Higashioka of late by frequently using one at catcher and one at designated hitter, but the former will be left out of the starting nine Monday while Cody Freeman gets a look at DH. Though Heim should continue to see a fair share of starts moving forward, the Rangers seem to be prioritizing Higashioka a little bit more. Higashioka is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak and will stick in the lineup for a seventh straight game, while Heim is on the bench for the third time during that stretch.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Heim is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Heim had started the previous 16 games and wasn't productive at the plate during that stretch with a .203/.261/.313 slash line. Kyle Higashioka will replace Heim behind the dish Sunday.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Delivers game-winning hit
Rotowire
Heim went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Friday's 7-3 win over the Astros.
Heim's two-run double in the third inning turned out to be the game-winning knock. July is shaping up to be the catcher's best month. Heim, who's batting .224 for the season, is 10-for-38 (.263) with three doubles and six RBI over 10 games this month.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Productive outing in rout
Rotowire
Heim went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a walk in Tuesday's 10-4 victory over the Orioles.
Heim tallied his 13th multi-hit effort of the season. The switch-hitting backstop has been mired in a brutal slump -- he has a .464 OPS across his last 101 plate appearances -- but he should still serve as Texas' primary catcher moving forward. Backup Kyle Higashioka hasn't performed much better at the plate recently, posting a .490 OPS over his last 86 plate appearances.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Homers Wednesday
Rotowire
Heim went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the Orioles.
Heim put the finishing touches on the Rangers' win, launching a solo shot off Scott Blewett in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 7-0. It's Heim's first homer since June 4 -- he'd gone just 3-for-23 (.130) in seven games prior to Wednesday. Overall, the switch-hitting backstop is slashing .230/.266/.380 with eight homers, 22 RBI, 18 runs scored and three steals across 214 plate appearances this season.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Taking seat Saturday
Rotowire
Heim is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates.
Heim made back-to-back starts behind the dish and will get a breather Saturday. In his place, Kyle Higashioka will catch and bat ninth.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Getting rest Wednesday
Rotowire
Heim is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Royals.
Heim will get a routine day off after he served as the Rangers' catcher in Tuesday's 6-1 loss. Kyle Higashioka will be behind the dish and will bat eighth Wednesday.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Heim is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Heim will take a seat after starting the first two games of the series. Kyle Higashioka will step in to catch for Kumar Rocker.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Taking seat Thursday
Rotowire
Heim is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Minnesota.
Heim went 2-for-3 with a run scored while catching eight innings of Wednesday night's 6-2 loss, so he will receive a breather for Thursday's matinee. Kyle Higashioka will be behind the dish and bat ninth for the Rangers.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: On bench Tuesday
Rotowire
Heim is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins.
Heim is batting .100 (4-for-40) over his past 13 contests and will sit Tuesday after starting Texas' previous two games. Kyle Higashioka will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Tyler Mahle.
Heim is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Heim will yield to Kyle Higashioka behind the dish Wednesday. Heim is 2-for-18 (.111) with eight strikeouts over his last six appearances.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Resting up Sunday
Rotowire
Heim is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Heim will get a respite Sunday after he started at either catcher or designated hitter each of the previous six games. Kyle Higashioka will step in behind the dish, while outfielder Sam Haggerty gets a day off from defensive duties as the Rangers' DH.
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Rangers' Jonah Heim: Serving as DH on Thursday
Rotowire
Heim (hand) will start at designated hitter and bat sixth in Thursday's game against the Yankees.
Heim suffered a compressed nerve in his right hand on a base hit in the top of the second inning of Wednesday's 4-3 loss. According to ESPN.com, Heim initially came on the field for the bottom of the second, but after airmailing a throw back to right-hander Jacob deGrom on the first pitch of the inning, the Rangers elected to pull Heim from the game. Bochy relayed after the game that imaging on Heim's hand came back negative, but the Rangers aren't yet ready to deploy the veteran backstop behind the plate. Heim will handle a non-defensive role in the series finale while Kyle Higashioka steps in at catcher.
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