Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Friday's 9-2 win over the Red Sox.
All nine of the Padres' runs came in an incredible fifth inning that saw them bat around before recording an out, and Higashioka got the offensive eruption started by crushing a Nick Pivetta sweeper over the Green Monster. The veteran backstop is having the best month of his career in June, batting .292 (14-for-48) over 16 games with an eye-popping eight homers and 19 RBI -- his career high in homers for a season is only 10. Luis Campusano (thumb) is expected back off the IL in early July, but he will have a hard time wresting significant playing time back from Higashioka given the latter's current form.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Racks up two homers, six RBI
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Higashioka went 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI in Wednesday's 8-5 win against the Nationals.
Higashioka drove in all but two of San Diego's eight runs. He swatted a two-run homer to kick off the scoring in the second inning and capped his offensive outburst with a grand slam in the eighth. The grand slam was the first of Higashioka's career, while the multi-homer effort was his fifth as a big leaguer. He's hitting only .207 on the season but has otherwise provided good production with eight homers and 20 RBI in 32 games.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Knocks homer Saturday
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Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 6-4 win against the Brewers.
Higashioka delivered what turned out to be a key long ball in the seventh inning, belting a two-run blast to left field. It was the catcher's fifth homer through 12 games in June after he went deep just once over 17 contests prior to the start of the month. The hot stretch has helped Higashioka earn more playing time, and he's slated to take over primary catching duties for San Diego for at least 10 days due to Luis Campusano (thumb) landing on the injured list Saturday.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Getting Sunday off
Rotowire
Higashioka isn't in the Padres' lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
After hitting a two-run home run en route to a win Saturday, Higashioka will take a seat for Sunday's series finale while Brett Sullivan gets the nod behind home plate.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Knocks in three runs Wednesday
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a triple and three RBI in a 5-2 win against Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Higashioka's bases-loaded triple in the eighth inning provided the winning margin for San Diego in the road victory. It was the first three-bagger of the catcher's career. Higashioka has just one hit over his past 12 at-bats, but prior to that he homered in three straight games, and he has racked up seven RBI through 10 games in June.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Delivers walk-off homer
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Athletics.
Higashioka came up clutch, taking Scott Alexander deep for a walk-off homer in the ninth inning. This was Higashioka's fourth homer in his last five games, all of which have been of the solo variety. The catcher is up to a .188/.212/.453 slash line with five long balls, seven RBI and seven runs scored across 66 plate appearances. He could continue to challenge Luis Campusano for playing time, but Higashioka is more likely to remain in a backup role.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Keeps up power surge
Rotowire
Higashioka went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 13-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Higashioka has hit three homers over four games in June. His increased success at the plate has seen him split the starts at catcher with Luis Campusano, who should still be considered the Padres' primary backstop. Through 62 plate appearances this year, Higashioka is slashing .180/.194/.410 with four long balls, six RBI and six runs scored. His OPS was as low as .377 on May 26, but it's up to .604 now thanks to his increased display of power.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Launches third homer
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Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Higashioka got the Padres on the board in the fifth inning with his solo shot. This was his second homer over three games in June after he hit just one long ball over the first two months of the season. The backup catcher is at a .161/.175/.357 slash line with five RBI, four runs scored and two doubles across 57 plate appearances. Higashioka is unlikely to see much playing time as long as Luis Campusano is healthy.
Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Contributes homer Saturday
Rotowire
Higashioka went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday in a 7-3 victory versus the Royals.
Higashioka padded San Diego's lead in the ninth inning with a solo shot to left field. It was just his second homer this season after he belted exactly 10 long balls in each of the past three seasons while with the Yankees. Higashioka's playing time has fallen as a member of the Padres -- he has just 52 plate appearances so far this season. The backup catcher is slashing a paltry .157/.173/.314, though four of his eight hits have gone for extra bases.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Homers for first hit of 2024
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's win over the Cardinals.
Higashioka made his second start of the campaign -- filling in for Luis Campusano, who got the night off -- and delivered his first long ball of the season. The homer was his first hit after he went 0-for-4 in his first game of the season. Considering Campusano has a clear hold on catcher duties, Higashioka should generally remain outside of fantasy consideration.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Draws rare start Wednesday
Rotowire
Higashioka will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Higashioka will pick up just his second start through the Padres' first nine contests of the season while Luis Campusano rests for the day game after he played all nine innings behind the dish in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Cardinals. Assuming health prevails, Campusano looks primed to shoulder one of the heavier workloads among No. 1 catchers in baseball this season, so Higashioka's opportunities are expected to remain infrequent.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Reaches deal with new team
Rotowire
Higashioka signed a one-year contract with the Padres on Thursday, avoiding arbitration.
Higashioka joined the Padres as part of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees in December. Higashioka slashed .236/.274/.413 with 34 RBI across 242 plate appearances last season, and he seems destined for a backup role behind Luis Campusano with the Padres.
Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Headed to SD in Soto deal
Rotowire
The Yankees traded Higashioka to San Diego on Wednesday alongside Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez and Jhony Brito in exchange for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Higashioka slashed .236/.274/.413 with 10 homers and 34 RBI across 260 plate appearances last season -- his best season at the plate since 2020. However, with Luis Campusano virtually locked in as San Diego's main backstop, the 33-year-old Higashioka will have to compete with Brett Sullivan for a backup role.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Moves into reserve role
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Higashioka and Ben Rortvedt had largely been operating in a timeshare at catcher since the All-Star break, but both backstops are likely to see their opportunities take hits down the stretch after the Yankees called up catching prospect Austin Wells from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Wells is making his third straight start behind the dish Sunday and should see the majority of the starts at catcher for the rest of the season.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Not in lineup Wednesday
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Higashioka is out of the lineup Wednesday at Detroit.
Higashioka slugged a solo home run in the Yankees' defeat of the Tigers on Tuesday, but he'll take a seat Wednesday as Ben Rortvedt handles the catching duties for New York. Higashioka had made three straight starts behind the plate.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Swats another homer
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday in a 4-2 win against the Tigers.
HIgashioka accounted for New York's second run of the contest with his fifth-inning solo homer. The long ball was the second in three games for the backstop and his third over his past seven contests, though all have been solo shots. With Ben Rortvedt slashing a measly .122/.246/.265 on the campaign, Higashioka has settled into the primary catcher role for the Yankees, starting each of the team's past three games.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Goes deep Sunday
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Rays.
Higashioka and DJ LeMahieu hit back-to-back-back jacks off Zack Littell in the third inning. In his age-33 season, Higashioka has tallied a career-high 32 RBI and is just two home runs away from a new best mark in that category. For the year, he's slashing .231/.269/.404 with nine homers, 21 runs scored and a 12:60 BB:K in 224 plate appearances.
