Tyler Heineman

Tyler Heineman

33-Year-Old CatcherC
Toronto Blue Jays
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Heineman added another club to his resume when he was picked up by Toronto late in the season after being designated for assignment by Boston in early September. Heineman has now caught in 10 organizations since being drafted in the eighth round of the 2012 draft out of UCLA, yet he has 299 career plate appearances at the big league level. He may be the catching version of Edwin Jackson, who pitched for 14 different major league clubs in his career. The 2025 season could be different for Heineman, because Toronto does not have anybody ready from the minors to come up, and the pitching staff loves throwing to Alejandro Kirk as long as the club tolerates the offensive struggles. Heineman is the perfect backup catcher for that situation, but also one easily replaceable should something open up on the market for the Jays. They could absolutely use some upgrades to their bench. He has been waived each of the past four seasons at some point and likely will suffer that same fate again some time in 2025. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#362
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jays in March of 2025.
Extends hitting streak Thursday
CToronto Blue Jays
April 10, 2025
Heineman went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Thursday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Red Sox.
ANALYSIS
Starting at catcher for the resting Alejandro Kirk, Heineman drove in Toronto's first run on a seventh-inning single as he extended his hitting streak to five games. Although Heineman has gone 9-for-18 with one home run, one double, two RBI and one stolen base through five outings this season, he'll likely remain Kirk's backup behind the plate.
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Batting Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
2020
2019
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
1
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
3
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+219%
OPS vs LHP
2025
 
 
+580%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+117%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+206%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left 1.493 27 4 1 7 1 .545 .630 .864
Since 2023vs Right .468 59 8 0 0 1 .160 .288 .180
2025vs Left 1.917 12 3 1 4 1 .750 .750 1.167
2025vs Right .282 11 2 0 0 0 .100 .182 .100
2024vs Left .542 8 0 0 0 0 .167 .375 .167
2024vs Right .250 8 2 0 0 0 .000 .250 .000
2023vs Left 1.714 7 1 0 3 0 .500 .714 1.000
2023vs Right .560 40 4 0 0 1 .206 .325 .235
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+10%
OPS on Road
2025
 
 
+7%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+327%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+7%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .743 44 4 1 6 0 .250 .318 .425
Since 2023Away .820 42 8 0 1 2 .313 .476 .344
2025Home 1.200 10 1 1 3 0 .400 .400 .800
2025Away 1.122 13 4 0 1 1 .500 .538 .583
2024Home .143 7 1 0 0 0 .000 .143 .000
2024Away .611 9 1 0 0 0 .167 .444 .167
2023Home .708 27 2 0 3 0 .250 .333 .375
2023Away .664 20 3 0 0 1 .214 .450 .214
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Tyler Heineman compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.33
 
BB Rate
4.3%
 
K Rate
13.0%
 
BABIP
.500
 
ISO
.227
 
AVG
.455
 
OBP
.478
 
SLG
.682
 
OPS
1.160
 
wOBA
.503
 
Exit Velocity
85.9 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
42.1%
 
Barrels/PA
4.3%
 
Expected BA
.290
 
Expected SLG
.409
 
Sprint Speed
23.4 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
38.9%
 
Line Drive %
22.2%
 
Fly Ball %
38.9%
 
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Tyler Heineman See More
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
2 days ago
The American League waiver wire is heating up as potential breakout players like Kyren Paris continue to make noise.
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55 days ago
Todd Zola explains how projected playing time and a skills-based approach helps him identify upside plays late in a draft, as well as leading him to put Aaron Judge at the top of his personal rankings.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Throwing Shade
360 days ago
Juan Soto is one of the hottest hitters in baseball, and his New York Yankees are one of the teams playing a full seven games, as Todd Zola digs in with his Weekly Hitter Ranking for April 21-27.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
August 27, 2023
We're getting down to the stretch of the season and Jan Levine has prepared a number of NL candidates who can easily slot into your fantasy lineups.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
May 28, 2023
Erik Siegrist dives into the AL free-agent pool as Drew Waters tries to solidify center field for the Royals.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2021
Heineman played in 52 games for the Pirates last season after he began the year with the Blue Jays, and he had a .544 OPS in 174 plate appearance between the two teams. He re-signed with Pittsburgh on a minor-league deal and will compete with fellow non-roster invitees Kevin Plawecki and Jason Delay for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Austin Hedges signed as a free agent should begin the campaign as the No. 1 option behind the plate given his elite defensive skills. Prospect Endy Rodriguez is likely to make his debut at some point during the first half, at which point Heineman's roster spot, if he has one, will likely be in jeopardy.
Heineman has spent nearly the entirety of his career as organizational depth, reaching Triple-A for the first time in 2015, yet failing to make his major-league debut until 2019. He took another step forward in 2020, serving as the Opening Day backstop for the Giants and earning a career-best 50 plate appearances. In 62 career plate appearances, he's managed just a .208/.288/.302 line. While a small sample to judge a player's potential in most scenarios, Heineman has topped a .130 ISO in just one season in the minor leagues. After being unseated as the starting catcher for the Giants by a combination of Joey Bart and Chadwick Tromp, Heineman was released and has since signed a minor-league deal with the Cardinals. Pending the free agency of long-time starter Yadier Molina. Heineman could compete for backup duties with his above-average defensive ability being his most compelling contribution.
More Fantasy News
Continues hot start Wednesday
CToronto Blue Jays
April 3, 2025
Heineman went 2-for-4 in Wednesday's win over the Nationals, and he's batting .429 (3-for-7) with a solo home run to begin the season.
ANALYSIS
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Claims backup spot
CToronto Blue Jays
March 22, 2025
Manager John Schneider said Saturday that Heineman has made the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Remains favorite for backup job
CToronto Blue Jays
March 20, 2025
Heineman is expected to begin the season as the Blue Jays' No. 2 catcher behind Alejandro Kirk, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Lands with Toronto
CToronto Blue Jays
September 16, 2024
The Blue Jays claimed Heineman off waivers from the Red Sox on Monday.
ANALYSIS
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Pushed off 40-man
CBoston Red Sox
September 14, 2024
The Red Sox designated Heineman for assignment Saturday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Promotion could come Thursday
CToronto Blue Jays
May 25, 2023
Heineman could be called up by the Blue Jays ahead of Thursday's game against the Rays with Danny Jansen managing a groin issue, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
ANALYSIS
Jansen is undergoing an MRI, the results of which should indicate whether or not a trip to the injured list is necessary. Heineman was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Pirates in late April and has a .592 OPS in 10 contests with Triple-A Buffalo. The 31-year-old shouldn't see consistent starts if promoted, as Alejandro Kirk is the likely bet to work as Toronto's primary catcher if Jansen is sidelined.
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