Texas Rangers: 5 players who have been surprise contributors

4. Jonah Heim

I think we all knew Heim was good. He showed that in 2022, especially in the first half of the season when he should have been sent to the All Star Game. Heim has come back in 2023 and has taken his game to another level. It can be reasonably argued that Heim is the best catcher in the American League right now. What he is doing offensively and defensively is unmatched by anyone in this league. He has a .313 batting average which is good for fourth in the American League. He has the highest OPS for catchers at .887. He leads all AL catchers in RBI's with 31. Really the only catcher in the majors he is behind in these categories is Sean Murphy. He is having statistically the second best season for a catcher in all of baseball. He continues to be one of the best pitch framers in the game. He continues to be a stalwart defensively and at just 27-years of age he is just now entering his prime. The only question remaining for Heim is will he be able to hold up through the season and possibly into October. He has shown himself to be a front-line catcher. That is something Texas has not had since Mike Napoli back 2011-2012 and before that it was Pudge back in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Having Heim behind the plate and in the lineup will make Bruce Bochy's job much easier going forward.