Jonah Heim Hitting His Stride with Stockton

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor

When the A’s acquired catcher Jonah Heim from Tampa Bay last December as the player to be named later in the Joey Wendle deal, it was already the second time that the young backstop had been dealt in his young career. After being taken by Baltimore in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, Heim was traded to Tampa Bay in 2016 for Steve Pearce before the Rays turned around and shipped him to Oakland this past offseason.

In his first season in the A’s organization, the switch hitter has impressed at the plate while serving as the starting catcher for Stockton. The 23-year-old currently leads the team with 21 doubles while putting up a productive .293/.353/.434 slash line for the Ports. He’s also drawn praise for his work behind the plate, and Ports pitchers have performed extremely well over the first few months of the season while working with Heim.

Stockton skipper Rick Magnante has nothing but praise for Heim, comparing him to a young Matt Wieters, and his performance so far this season has his stock on the rise. We took the opportunity to catch up with the young catcher in Stockton earlier this week while the Ports were in the midst of their five-games series with Lancaster…

 

AF:  You’ve been having a good year here in Stockton since coming over from the Tampa Bay organization in the offseason. You’ve been making a lot of solid contact this year. So, what do you feel has been the key to your success at the plate this season?

JH:  I feel really good this year. It definitely started in the offseason. I had a good offseason just tinkering with the swing and getting it dialed in, and then just going out here and trying to hit the ball hard. And when you hit the ball hard, you get good results. So, that’s all we’re trying to do.

AF:  So, did you make any significant adjustments to your swing in the offseason or were you just trying to refine things that you’d already been doing?

JH:  Yeah, it was just more refining stuff, and then just working more on the mental side of my approach and trying to just stay out my head a little.

AF:  Trying not to think quite so much?

JH:  Yeah.

AF:  Well, sometimes, that can help! Do you feel that pitchers are approaching you any differently here at this level, and did you have to make any particular adjustments once you got into the season?

JH:  Oh, yeah, definitely. Pitchers here are always going to be good, and they’re always going to have great stuff. We go against some of the best here, and they make adjustments as much as we do during the season. So, it’s definitely a learning curve, but we just go out there and try to compete every day.

AF:  As a switch hitter, do you feel any more comfortable hitting from either side of the plate?

JH:  Honestly, it just goes day to day. It just depends how I wake up and how I feel. But both sides feel pretty dialed in right now, and I just hope that it stays like that for the rest of the year.

AF:  Your numbers from the right side of the plate have been particularly impressive this year. I don’t know how aware you are of that…

JH:  [Shakes head]

AF:  Usually, if you’re seeing less time at one side, I know it can sometimes make things a little tougher, but it seems like you’re not having any trouble with that.

JH:  I mean, less at-bats and better results, that’s always a plus!

AF:  What do you feel your greatest strengths are as a catcher?

JH:  Probably my ability to work with the pitchers and trying to get the best out of them, whatever it is – calling pitches for them or just trying to go out for mound visits and try to calm them down and stuff like that. The relationships I have with the guys are great, and it helps us win.

AF:  Have you always really enjoyed working with pitchers throughout your career?

JH:  Yeah, definitely. If I can help them improve in any way, that’s huge for me. It’s my job to help them and hopefully get the best out of them.

AF:  Well, you had some guys here in Stockton who had some really impressive pitching performances in the first half of the season, guys like the Parker Dunshee and Brian Howard, as well as Miguel Romero out of the bullpen. Lots of guys here were throwing great in the first half. How much did you enjoy working with a staff like that and did you take any sort of pride in that?

JH:  Definitely. As a catcher, when you have a great staff, it makes my job easy. When they go out every night and give us a chance to win, that’s huge. They were very, very good for us in the first half. And congratulations to them. They’re in Double-A now, so that shows you how good of a first half they had. So, yeah, it’s definitely a good feeling.

AF:  In terms of your defense behind the plate, is there anything in particular that you’re working on trying to improve at this point?

JH:  We’re always working on everything. So, there’s not one specific thing I’m trying to work on. I’m trying to get better at every aspect of the game. I’m trying to get my way up to the big leagues and, even when I get there, hopefully I just keep working on everything and just keep trying to improve.

AF:  You’re still just 23, and you’ve already been traded twice now. So, when you were traded to the A’s in the offseason, what was your reaction and what was that experience like for you?

JH:  It was definitely easier than the first time. The first time was a little difficult, being traded away from the team that drafted you, but the second time was much easier. I came and got acclimated with the guys pretty easily. I knew what to expect, and the guys have been great. Learning from the first trade was huge, so it was much easier.

AF:  I know you’re from upstate New York, so had you had a chance to spend much time here in California before?

JH:  I’d been here I think twice in my life.

AF:  So, what’s it been like for you playing in the California League and out here on the west coast for the first time?

JH:  Ah, man, it’s definitely hot! But, I mean, the weather’s been great. You can’t complain. I think we’ve had one rainout all year. You know what you’re going to get. You know you’re going to come to the ballpark every day and play, so it’s great. The travel is awesome. All the ballparks are great. It’s California, so it could be worse.

AF:  So, what’s your living situation like in Stockton? Who are you living with here this year?

JH:  I’m with Jake Bray, one of our pitchers, and Trace [Loehr] just moved in with us – he just got called up. We’re just living in an apartment. It’s nice. Everything in California’s a little pricey, but that’s why we’ve got roommates.

AF:  Well, you had a strong first half here this season. So, do you have any particular goals or anything you’re focused on trying to do or accomplish here in the second half?

JH:  Not really. I’m just out here trying to help my team win in any way I can. And hopefully I can keep the bat on the ball and keep hitting balls hard. The end goal is just to win championships. We’re already a step closer since we made the playoffs, so we’re just looking forward to that!

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