Although the season ended in disappointment, many Yankees made positive strides in their development. You wouldn’t normally expect a 32-year-old backup catcher to be in that group, but Kyle Higashioka took a big step forward to establish himself as one of the most dependable second-string backstops in baseball.
Grade: B-
2022 Statistics: 83 games, 248 PA, .227/.264/.389, 10 HR, 83 wRC+, 74th percentile framing, 1.7 fWAR
2023 Contract Status: Entering second year of arbitration eligibility
The Yankees’ backup catcher just logged far and away the best season of his career, almost tripling his previous single-season wins mark while appearing in a career-high 83 games.