Mar 30, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman (55) reacts as he runs to home plate after hitting a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the seventh inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Former Bruin Heineman is Tearing the Cover off the Baseball

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI
By Dominic Minchella | Last updated May 22, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Former UCLA Bruin catcher turned Major League Baseball player for the Toronto Blue Jays, Tyler Heineman, has been nothing but stellar for the franchise through a month and a half of the 2025 MLB campaign. The veteran was viewed as a backup catcher but continues to prove his worth both at the plate and behind it.

Heineman has been in the MLB since the 2019 campaign but was drafted out of UCLA by the Houston Astros in the eighth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Working his way through the minors, Heineman found his way into the league as a member of the Miami Marlins.

Spending a few seasons not as a member of the Blue Jays, the franchise always seems to land him. His first stint with Toronto came back in 2022, where he played in 10 games with the franchise before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He would then start the 2023 campaign with Pittsburgh until he found his way back to the Blue Jays franchise later that season. 2024 was more of the same, beginning the season with the Boston Red Sox, playing in two games, and heading back to Toronto. This season, his breakout has finally come.

Having been a career .237 hitter at the plate, his defense was his calling, much like most backup catchers in the league. This season, through 18 games, the former Bruin has slashed a .386 batting average, with one home run and six RBIs, and has collected 16 hits.

Owning an on-base plus slugging stat line of .949, this is the best stretch Heineman has had in his career thus far in the league. The most at-bats that the UCLA product has had in a single season was with the Pirates, as he walked up to the plate 158 times and earned himself a .233 batting average.

In 860.1 innings played as the catcher, Heineman has a .990 fielding percentage, which is elite for a defense-first-type player. While the Blue Jays sit near the middle of the American League East division with an overall record of 24-24. Heineman has been doing his part in the process and will look to do so as the season continues.