Every team has three catchers, whether they are all on the
40-man roster or whether they stash one down in Triple-A just to be sure, and
that is especially true for the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers actually
have some serious depth at the catcher position and that depth begins and ends
with the man that will likely begin the season receiving down in Triple-A
Scranton with the RailRiders, Mr. Kyle Higashioka. Let’s meet the Yankees 3rd
catcher that has arrived with their spring training pitchers and catchers this
week down in Tampa.
Kyle Higashioka, 28-years old, is a right-handed hitting and
throwing catcher from the New York Yankees system. Higashioka stands 6’1” tall
and weighs in at 205 lbs. Higashioka is a steady hitter that doesn’t have a
huge swing and miss ratio, but he doesn’t make enough contact to ever progress
from a backup catcher at the Major League level in my opinion.
Kyle Harris Higashioka was born on April 20, 1990 in
Huntington Beach, California where he attended Edison High School. Higashioka
played for the school’s baseball team and committed to the University of California,
Berkley to play college baseball for the California Golden Bears. Before playing
for the Cal Golden Bears he caught the attention of the New York Yankees and
their scouts, who subsequently selected Higashioka in the seventh round of the
2008 MLB First Year Players Draft. Higashioka signed with the Yankees for
$500,000 rather than attend college and immediately began his professional
career.
Higashioka’s climb through the Yankees system was a slow
one, especially after missing all but 13 games combined in 2013 and 2014 after
undergoing Tommy John surgery and suffering a broken thumb. Higashioka became a
minor league free agent after the 2015 season, but ultimately decided to
re-sign with the organization for the 2016 season. Kyle started the 2016 season
in Double-A Trenton and finished the season in Triple-A with the RailRiders,
finding himself just one step away from the Major League level. The Yankees
added Higashioka to their 40-man roster following the 2016 season and optioned
him to AAA to begin the 2017 season.
Following an injury to Gary Sanchez in 2017 the New York
Yankees selected the contract of Higashioka and promoted him to the Major
League level. Higashioka started his MLB career 0-for-18 before being optioned
back down to Triple-A when Sanchez was activated off of the disabled list. Kyle
was back in the majors by June 16, again following an injury to Gary Sanchez,
and was returned to Scranton once the Yankees starting catcher returned from
the DL. Higashioka suffered an injury of his own once returning to the minors
in 2017, limiting the Yankees catcher to just eight comes during the months of
August and September.
Higashioka got called back up to the Major Leagues on June
27 of 2018, following another injury to Sanchez, and had another sluggish start
with the bat. After starting his MLB career 0-for-22, he had his first major
league hit, a home run off Boston Red Sox starter David Price. His next two MLB
hits, one on July 3rd and another on July 4th, were also
home runs, making him the ninth player since 1920 to have three home runs for
their first three hits of their career.
Kyle will likely start the 2019 season, barring injuries,
back in Scranton, but the New York Yankees know that he is just one phone call
(and a Scranton Shuttle) away from being back in the Bronx. We look forward to seeing
you this season, Kyle. Good luck!