Jonah Heim

Jonah Nathan Heim (born June 27, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Heim attended Amherst Central High School, where the cold weather limited how often he played outdoors.

Jonah Nathan Heim was born June 27, 1995, in Buffalo, New York.

A childhood fan of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB), Heim's favorite players were catchers like Jorge Posada and Russell Martin, and he grew up watching the Buffalo Bisons, the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate, although they were part of the Cleveland Guardians organization at the time, play at Sahlen Field.

Heim began playing baseball when he was two years old, and around the age of 12, he took up switch hitting, telling his father, "hitting from the right side is boring".

Heim attended Kenmore East High School for one year before his parents moved out of the school district, requiring him to transfer to Amherst Central High School.

The harsh climate in Buffalo meant that Heim could only play 20 outdoor baseball games in a season, and the team's stadium lacked an outfield wall, so home runs landed in nearby backyards or soccer fields.

After batting .470 and picking off 12 baserunners during his junior year of high school, Heim was invited to play in several national exhibition games, where he caught the attention of professional scouts and college recruiters.

The Baltimore Orioles selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft, and he took several years to develop his offensive abilities in the Orioles' farm system.

Amherst retired Heim's No. 6 jersey shortly after his 2013 graduation.

The Baltimore Orioles selected Heim out of high school in the fourth round, 129th overall, of the 2013 MLB Draft.

At the time, Heim had committed to playing college baseball with the Michigan State Spartans, but he turned down the commitment and joined the Orioles on a $389,700 signing bonus.

After signing, Heim was assigned to the Rookie-level GCL Orioles of the Gulf Coast League.

He struggled in his rookie season, batting .185 with four runs batted in (RBI) in 27 games.

Heim's poor hitting continued in the 2014 season, but Baltimore hitting coach Jeff Manto was unconcerned with the catcher's development, attributing it in part to his limited playing time in high school.

Heim split the season between the GCL Orioles and the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League, batting .196 with one home run and seven RBI in 46 games.

Heim began the 2015 season with the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he split time at catcher with Alex Murphy.

He improved offensively to start the season, batting .258 with 10 extra-base hits and 16 RBI in 36 games before going on the injured list with a foot injury in May.

He did not begin a rehab assignment until the end of August and returned to Delmarva on September 1.

Heim finished the season batting .252 with one home run and 18 RBI in 45 minor league games.

The Orioles promoted Heim to the Frederick Keys for the 2016 season, where he was named a Carolina League All-Star.

Although he had a lifetime .216 batting average in 88 games for the Orioles organization, Heim cited his time in Frederick as a turning point for his offensive development.

On August 1, 2016, the Orioles traded Heim to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for veteran utility player Steve Pearce.

From there, he was assigned to the Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs, where he recorded the game-winning RBI in his Florida State League debut.

Between Frederick and Charlotte, Heim batted .217 in 2016, with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 102 games.

Heim opened the 2017 season with the Low-A Bowling Green Hot Rods, where he batted .268 with nine home runs and 53 RBI in 77 games before being promoted back to the Stone Crabs in August.

There, he added an additional eight RBI on the season while batting .218 in 16 games.

Heim was traded to the Oakland Athletics on December 19, 2017, as the player to be named later to complete a trade for Joey Wendle.

He spent 2018 with both the Stockton Ports and the Midland RockHounds, batting .258 with eight home runs and sixty RBIs in 119 total games between both teams.

He split the 2019 season between Midland and the Las Vegas Aviators, hitting a combined .310/.385/.477/.862 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs.

On November 1, 2019, Heim was added to the Athletics 40-man roster.

Heim was traded twice in the minor leagues, first to the Tampa Bay Rays and then to Oakland, where he made his MLB debut in 2020.

The following year, the Athletics traded Heim to Texas, where he became the Rangers' starting catcher and went on to represent the team at the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.

On June 30, 2020, Minor League Baseball canceled the 2020 season due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, Heim was one of several Athletics prospects who began the pandemic-shortened season at an alternate training site as a member of the Oakland taxi squad.

While not participating in games, he spent the first part of the season working with MLB pitchers during bullpen sessions and batting practice.

On August 24, the Athletics optioned backup catcher Austin Allen and promoted Heim to the active roster in his place.

Heim made his major league debut the next day, starting behind the plate in Oakland's 10–3 win over the Texas Rangers.

In the seventh inning, Heim recorded his first MLB hit with a single off of Texas pitcher Kyle Gibson.