Tyler Heineman

Tyler Andrew Heineman (born June 19, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher in the San Francisco Giants organization. The Houston Astros selected Heineman in the eighth round of the 2012 MLB draft. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, with whom he made his MLB debut in 2019. He played college baseball for the UCLA Bruins.

Tyler Heineman
Heineman playing for the Fresno Grizzlies in 2015
San Francisco Giants
Catcher
Born: (1991-06-19) June 19, 1991
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 4, 2019, for the Miami Marlins
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.273
Home runs1
Runs batted in2
Teams

High school and college

Heineman attended the Windward School in Los Angeles. There, he played for the school's baseball team. He batted .490 as a sophomore (2007), batted .619 as a junior (2008; establishing the Windward School single-season batting average record), and batted .487 and earned first-team All-CIF Division IV honors as a senior (2009) in addition to Delphic League MVP honors.[1]

Lightly recruited by college baseball programs, Heineman did not receive any scholarship offers. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and made the UCLA Bruins baseball team as a walk-on. He played sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, receiving eight at bats as a freshman, and batting .261 in 23 games as a sophomore. Heineman became the Bruins' starting catcher in his junior year after starting catcher Steve Rodriguez and recruit Austin Hedges signed professional contracts.[2] He was named All-Pac-12 Conference[3] and a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to college baseball's best catcher.[2]

Career

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros selected Heineman in the eighth round of the 2012 MLB draft.[3] He played for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League after signing, and his .358 batting average led the league, while he ranked second in the league in OBP (.452) and OPS (.882).[4][5] He was a mid-season All Star, and an MiLB Organization All Star.[6]

He played for the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League in 2013,[7] and the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League in 2014. After the 2014 regular season, the Astros assigned Heineman to the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League.[8]

Heineman began the 2015 season with Corpus Christi, and received a midseason promotion to the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. He finished 2015 with a .285 batting average along with 3 home runs and 30 RBIsp. Heineman spent 2016 with Fresno as well, where he batted .259 with 3 home runs and 14 RBIs.[9]

Milwaukee Brewers

During spring training in 2017, the Astros traded Heineman to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later or cash considerations.[10] The Brewers assigned him to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, where he spent all season, posting a .281 batting average with two home runs and 20 RBIs in 199 at bats.[9]

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 13, 2018, Heineman signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[11] He opened the 2019 season with the Reno Aces, batting .325/.407/.525 in 80 at bats.[12]

Miami Marlins

On June 3, 2019, the Diamondbacks traded Heineman to the Miami Marlins in exchange for cash considerations.[13] On September 3, the Marlins selected Heineman's contract.[14] He made his major league debut on September 4 versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out as a pinch hitter.[15] He recorded his first MLB hit on September 25; a pinch hit double off Jacob deGrom.[16] He hit his first career home run off Zack Wheeler on September 26.[17] On October 16, Heineman was outrighted to AAA New Orleans, where for the season he batted .341/.397/.622 in 164 at bats.[18] He was an MiLB Organization All Star.[19] He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[20]

San Francisco Giants

On January 6, 2020, Heineman signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants with an invitation for spring training.[21]

Personal life

Heineman's younger brother, Scott Heineman, is a professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Their father, Steve, served in the Santa Monica Police Department.[22]

References
  2. Peter Yoon (June 7, 2012). "Catcher Heineman a tower of strength". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  3. Eric Sondheimer (June 14, 2012). "UCLA baseball walk-ons prove their worth". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  4. Brad Kyle (January 31, 2017). "Spring NRI Astros, Pt. 3: C Tyler Heineman, Bruin Trouble For Pitchers". The Runner Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  7. Jose de Jesus Ortiz (March 16, 2014). "Heineman, who was cut today, showcases Astros' strong catching depth". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  8. George Vondracek. "On the Mark: Appel shines as Hooks blank RoughRiders in series opener". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  9. "Tyler Heineman Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  10. Jake Kaplan (March 26, 2017). "Astros trade catcher Tyler Heineman to Brewers". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  11. Bob D'Angelo (March 4, 2019). "Diamondbacks' Tyler Heineman wows teammates with card tricks". The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  13. Isaiah Burrows (June 4, 2019). "Arizona deals master of cards Tyler Heineman to Miami". Carson City Nevada News. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  14. Jordan McPherson (September 3, 2019). "A call up has him 'flooded with emotion.' He can make history in his Marlins debut". Miami Herald. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  15. "Pirates Rally Past Marlins 6-5 In 9th". CBS Miami. September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  16. "Mets eliminated despite 10-3 win over Marlin". ABC 7. September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  17. The AP (September 26, 2019). "Marlins Hit 3 Late Homers To Beat Mets 4-2". CBS Miami. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  20. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  21. "Giants add longtime minor leaguer as option behind Posey". NBCS Bay Area. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  22. Daniel Archuleta. "Baseball: Brothers with local ties square off". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
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