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Kyle Higashioka Heating Up at Plate After Slow Start for Rangers
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- Kyle Higashioka Heating Up at Plate After Slow Start for Rangers
(© Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images)
Kyle Higashioka 's recent increase in playing time has not been driven solely by Danny Jansen 's injury.
While the Texas Rangers officially placed Jansen on the 10-day Injured List on Saturday, the veteran catcher had already begun losing opportunities behind the plate.
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Jansen had not appeared in a game since June 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals , when he entered late as a defensive replacement while managing a strained right forearm.
At the same time, Higashioka's bat started to come around.
After hitting .200 during May, the veteran catcher began showing signs of progress early in June. He opened the month with a 3-for-4 performance in St. Louis on June 2, followed that with a 1-for-2 showing Wednesday, and continued the momentum Friday against the Cleveland Guardians with an important home run in a 3-2 victory.
The Rangers were trailing 2-0 before his solo home run and built from there.
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Wyatt Langford followed Higashioka's blast with a double before Corey Seager drove him home with a home run of his own.
The recent stretch did not appear out of nowhere.
To find where things began turning, it helps to go back to May 17 against the Houston Astros .
That night, Higashioka went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. His batting average later dropped to .198 by May 28, but after sitting out several games, he returned for the finale against the Kansas City Royals on May 31 and immediately responded with another 2-for-4 performance and an RBI.
Since then, the production has continued.
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Higashioka now owns a .245/.319/.392 slash line with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 33 games while hitting .500 during June.
The offensive surge has started to resemble what Texas expected when bringing him in.
After signing a two-year contract with the Rangers in 2025, Higashioka produced one of the strongest offensive seasons of his career while splitting catching duties with Jonah Heim .
He finished that year hitting .241/.291/.403 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs in 94 games.
The original vision entering this season was for Higashioka and Jansen to share responsibilities behind the plate.
Instead, Jansen had received more of the workload before the injury while producing a .171/.277/.309 slash line.
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Now the opportunity shifts.
Texas signed Elias Díaz on Saturday to serve as the backup catcher, and while he is expected to receive occasional starts, Higashioka appears positioned to handle the majority of the workload.
His recent play suggests that opportunity has become about more than circumstance.
He has earned it.
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