Nicholas James Heath (born November 27, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Chicago Dogs The Chicago Dogs are an independent professional baseball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2018 and p ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Career

Heath attended Junction City High School in

Junction City, Kansas Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,932. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby. History Junction City is so named from its ...

. Undrafted out of high school, Heath attended Northwestern State University. He redshirted his freshman year and played the following three seasons of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

(2014-2016). Heath was drafted by the

in the 16th round, with the 493rd overall selection, of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

Kansas City Royals

Heath played for the

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleuca ...

in 2016, hitting .291/.350/.387/.737 with 2 home runs, 28 RBI, and 36 stolen bases. He split the 2017 season between the

Arizona Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compos ...

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

, and

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

, hitting a combined .253/.316/.298/.614 with 1 home run, 16 RBI, and 25 stolen bases. Heath split the 2018 season between Wilmington and the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

, hitting a combined .274/.376/.358/.734 with 2 home runs, 27 RBI, and 39 stolen bases. He played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League following the 2018 season. He split the 2019 season between Northwest Arkansas and the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

, hitting a combined .255/.345/.387/.732 with 8 home runs, 36 RBI, and 60 stolen bases. Heath was added to the Royals 40–man roster following the 2019 season. He made his MLB debut on July 30, 2020, against the Detroit Tigers. Overall with the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Heath batted .154 with no home runs and 3 RBIs in 15 games. On April 14, 2021, Heath was designated for assignment by the Royals.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On April 17, 2021, Heath was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-hander Eduardo Herrera. Heath hit .143/.231/.171 with no home runs and 1 RBI in 20 games for Arizona before he was designated for assignment on July 10. On July 14, Heath was assigned outright to the Triple-A Reno Aces. He was released on April 30, 2022.

Charleston Dirty Birds

On June 19, 2022, Heath signed with the

Charleston Dirty Birds The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. Heath appeared in 77 games for Charleston, slashing .238/.358/.349 with 4 home runs, 33 RBI, and 42 stolen bases. He became a free agent following the season.

Chicago Dogs

On March 16, 2023, Heath signed with the

of the

Personal life

Heath's mother, Kimberly Milleson, ran track at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

and was a U.S. Olympic trials participant. In June 2020, Northwestern State created the Nick Heath Minority Scholarship which it announced would be awarded to three

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

baseball players between ages 5 and 13 to cover the cost of enrollment at a school-sponsored youth baseball camp. Heath also announced that he would be donating a bat and custom glove to each recipient of the scholarship.

References

External links

Northwestern State Demons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Nick 1993 births Living people People from Junction City, Kansas Baseball players from Kansas Major League Baseball outfielders Kansas City Royals players Arizona Diamondbacks players Northwestern State Demons baseball players Idaho Falls Chukars players Arizona League Royals players Lexington Legends players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Surprise Saguaros players Omaha Storm Chasers players Reno Aces players Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Chicago Dogs players Charleston Dirty Birds players