The Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves at the bottom of the pack in a loaded NL West division. It’s going to be a battle for the Diamondbacks to make a strong push for the playoffs and they’ll need production from every player.
One player who is new to the team and trying to make a name for himself is Nick Heath. Heath is in his second year, though he did not play a full season in 2020. He’s looking to change that in 2021 and become a mainstay in the league.
The 27-year-old had a memorable performance in his Diamondbacks debut on April 18 against the Washington Nationals. Our MLB Bro was on fire at the plate, going 3-for-4 in that game.
Heath was filled with excitement after his productive performance.
That 3-for-4 feeling in your D-backs debut ?@Dbacks | #RattleOn pic.twitter.com/Zz9Zoyvcrt
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) April 18, 2021
“Being able to come out here and be yourself and know these guys are pulling for you even though you’re the new guy on the block, man that’s pretty awesome,” he said in an article from ArizonaSports.com.
The days leading up to his debut with the Diamondbacks were a complete rollercoaster. Going into the season, the outfielder was a member of the Kansas City Royals, but that didn’t last long.
He found out that the Royals designated him for assignment, removing him from the team. Here, you had a player unsure of what his future would look like and wondering what his next move would be.
Well, the Diamondbacks saw something in this brother and decided to pick him up.
“Showing up, I didn’t know what to expect,” Heath said in the article. “Didn’t know what role I was going to be in. … It’s kind of tough, these guys losing somebody they’ve been around for a while so the goal for me right now is to just step in and be able to fill in the role.”
Heath is still considered one of the young guys. He’s just getting his feet wet and his career has a lot of chapters to still complete.
After his breakout debut with Arizona, Heath’s bat went cold. Through 31 at-bats this season, he has only five hits, with three of them coming in the same game. But 31 bats is too small a sample size to judge right now. In fact, he’s only had 53 major league plate appearances in his lifetime.
The good thing about baseball is that it’s a long season and Heath has the potential to get out of this slump that he’s in. He’s currently batting .161 with an RBI.
The Royals drafted Heath in the 16th round of the MLB draft out of Northwestern State University. He spent five seasons in the minors before getting the call-up with the Royals in 2020.
He appeared in 15 games that season and recorded two hits. The journey to get to the big leagues is a tough one and Heath has put in the work to reach the big stage.
Now, it’s all about staying there. This season, he’s already spent some time with the AAA affiliate team, the Reno Aces. Our MLB bro will have multiple opportunities this season to make a name for himself and show why he belongs in the league.
Don’t sleep on our brother Heath, this guy is talented.