18 Austin Hedges C

Hedges went 1-for-4 with his 14th home run of the season in Monday's 4-2 loss to San Francisco.

Hedges returned to the starting lineup after giving way to Francisco Mejia on Sunday. Both backstops have homered three times a piece while alternating starts in September. The competition has elevated their play and made both catchers worthy of fantasy consideration even in a timeshare.

Hedges is not in the lineup Friday against the Rangers.

Since Francisco Mejia made his first start for the Padres on Sept. 6, he's made four starts behind the plate compared to three for Hedges, with each catcher appearing once as a designated hitter. Mejia will get the start Friday, but the playing time looks to be relatively evenly split going forward.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 5-4 win over Seattle.

Hedges homered for the second time over the last three games, upping his season total to 13. The 26-year-old had been alternating two-game starts with rookie Francisco Mejia, but the presence of the DH on the road against the Mariners allowed both backstops to remain in the lineup during the two-game series. Hedges will return to an even time-split down the stretch, but his career-best .446 slugging percentage (seventh among catchers with at least 250 at-bats) should be enough to remain relevant at the catcher position.

Hedges went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 7-6 win over Cincinnati.

Hedges has now started two consecutive games after retreating to the bench in favor of Francisco Mejia over the previous two. This falls in line with manager Andy Green's plan to split starts between the young catchers. The timeshare is obviously less-favorable for Hedges' fantasy owners, as he was the unquestioned starter when healthy this year, but he is providing enough pop (.200 isolated power mark) to maintain value in deeper formats.

Hedges is out of the lineup against the Reds on Thursday.

Hedges will give way to Francisco Mejia, who is making his first start with the Padres during Thursday's series opener. With Mejia in the fold, Hedges may wind up splitting time behind the plate for the rest of the 2018 campaign as the organization takes a long look at the former's potential.