Kyle Higashioka DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim will make his first start of the year on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and right-hander Tanner Houck at Globe Life Field. Kyle Higashioka will take a seat on the bench for the second game of the season. Heim is doing the catching for right-hander Jack Leiter and is hitting eighth in the batting order. The 29-year-old left-handed-hitting Heim has lost a lot of fantasy appeal now that he's essentially in a timeshare with Higashioka after posting a disappointing .603 OPS in 2024. Meanwhile, Higashioka had a career year with the San Diego Padres last year, posting a .739 OPS with 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games played. Higashioka went 1-for-4 with an RBI double on Opening Day in the loss to the Red Sox. Heim has gone deep once with three RBI in just five career at-bats versus Houck.

The Texas Rangers are planning to give catchers Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka equal playing time in 2025, according to general manager Ross Fenstermaker. The Rangers signed Higashioka to a two-year, $13.5 million deal on Monday night and will plan to give him plenty of playing time behind the plate given Heim's struggles on offense this past season. The 29-year-old Heim was an All-Star in 2023, won a Gold Glove and a World Series ring, but he wasn't as good in 2024, slashing .220/.267/.336 with a weak .602 OPS, 13 home runs, 59 RBI and 45 runs scored in 131 games played in his fourth year in Texas. Meanwhile, Higashioka had a career year in his lone season with the San Diego Padres with 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games played as the team's primary backstop. Texas will be hoping a straight split in playing time will keep them both productive, but it will surely limit their fantasy upside.

The Texas Rangers agreed to a two-year, $13.5 million deal with free-agent catcher Kyle Higashioka on Monday night that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season. Higashioka opened his first year with the San Diego Padres in 2024 as the backup to Luis Campusano, but he quickly took over starting duties after Campusano was injured early in the year and never looked back on his way to a career year. The 34-year-old former seventh-round pick by the New York Yankees in 2008 hit only .220 (54-for-246), but it came with a career-high 17 home runs, career-high 45 RBI and career-high 29 runs scored in 84 regular-season games. Higashioka isn't suddenly going to hit for average at this point in his career, and he's unlikely to come close to eclipsing his 2024 numbers as the likely backup to Jonah Heim in Texas. But don't discredit the pop if he earns more time, as he's reached 10 homers in four straight seasons.