Texas Rangers fans amazed by catcher Jonah Heim’s exceptional pitch framing abilities: "Jonah or Justin Jefferson for Receiver 1?"
Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim was able to coax an MLB-high 259 called strikes on balls out of the zone in the first half of the season. Heim, an American League All-Star, is far and away the MLB leader in successful pitch framing this season.
Heim's defensive abilities were on display at the All-Star Game as he threw out Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez in the fourth inning, becoming just the third Rangers catcher to ever throw out a runner in the midsummer classic.
Jonah Heim caught 259 called strikes on first-half pitches that were out of the strike zone and there's nobody else even close. twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/BwAQ9RwS8z
Jonah Heim joined Ivan Rodriguez and Jim Sundberg as the only Texas Rangers to accomplish the fear after Arraez, who was initially called safe, was called out after a look at the replay.
It was Heim's first All-Star Game appearance. The fourth-year MLB player in his third season with the Rangers is on pace for the best season in his career.
@CodifyBaseball @JohnnyFBaseball Jonah or Justin Jefferson for Receiver 1?
@CodifyBaseball All-star catcher doing All-star catcher things.
@CodifyBaseball Does such a good job of keeping part of his glove in the zone when he catches those balls out of the zone.
Jonah Heim is batting .282 with 12 home runs through 79 games. He is a .234 career batter who hit a personal-best 16 home runs last season in 127 games.
The 28-year-old is blossoming with the Rangers this season after being a member of three different MLB organizations before he saw his first major league game.
@CodifyBaseball @NewbergReport One thing I love about Jonah is he brings the non-strike to the edge of the zone, instead of all the way back in. Minimal glove movement at the catch.
@CodifyBaseball Jonah is fantastic, but make sure to give some credit to @bobbywilson_88, bro is a catching savant and is really helping Jonah reach his potential
@CodifyBaseball Jonah Him
Jonah Heim was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft. In August of 2016, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Just over a year later, he was dealt to the Oakland Athletics as "the player to be named later" to complete the trade of infielder Joey Wendle from Oakland to Tampa Bay.
@CodifyBaseball Hot take: It's because he's massive.
@CodifyBaseball Gets around the ball better than anyone
@CodifyBaseball Framing is an art it can change any game and make any pitcher better than they really are.
It was with the Athletics that Heim got his first taste of the majors. He made his MLB debut on August 24, 2020, and batted .211 in 13 games that season.
He was traded once more after the 2020 season, heading to the Rangers in a multi-player swap that sent infielder Elvis Andrus to Oakland.
@CodifyBaseball Can’t wait until the automated strike zone demotes these guys to McDonald’s
Jonah Heim coming into his own this season
Heim hit the first grand slam of his career on April 14, 2022, against Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels. It remains the only grand slam that Ohtani has allowed in his six-year MLB career.
This season, he has already logged a career-best with 59 RBIs, and is closing in on his personal high with 43 runs.