Nicholas Lopez (born March 13, 1995) 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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

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). He was drafted by 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 ...

in the fifth round 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 ...

, and made his MLB debut with them in 2019. He has also played in MLB for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Amateur career

Lopez attended

Naperville Central High School Naperville Central High School (Naperville Central or NCHS) is a four-year public high school located in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The school, which enrolls students in grades nine through twelve, is a part of the Naper ...

in Naperville, Illinois. In 2013, as a senior, he batted .398. After high school, he enrolled and played

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 ...

at Creighton University. In 2016, his junior season, he hit .306 with two home runs and 22 RBIs in 55 games. After the season, he was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the

2016 Major League Baseball 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 ...

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

Lopez made his professional debut with the Burlington Royals and spent the whole 2016 season there, posting a .281 batting average with six home runs, 29 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 62 games. In 2017, he spent time with both the

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. ...

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 ...

, batting a combined .279 with two home runs, 38 RBIs, 24 stolen bases and a .704 OPS in 129 games. After the season, the Royals assigned Lopez to the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League. He began 2018 with Northwest Arkansas and was promoted to 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 ...

in June. In 130 total games between the two clubs, Lopez batted .308/.382/.417 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs. Lopez began 2019 back with Omaha. On May 14, his contract was selected and he was called up to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that night versus the Texas Rangers. Overall with the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Lopez batted .201 with one home run and 13 RBIs in 56 games. He had the lowest slugging percentage of all qualified hitters in the AL, at .266. Lopez was nominated for the

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

at second base, having erroneously been omitted from the initial list of finalists. He eventually lost out on the award to César Hernández of Cleveland. During spring training in 2021, Lopez switched his uniform number from No. 1 to No 8 to allow

Jarrod Dyson Jarrod Martel Dyson (born August 15, 1984) is an American professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirate ...

to wear No 1. Having hit .118 in 34 at-bats in Spring Training, Lopez was optioned to Triple-A

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

, with

Whit Merrifield Whitley David Merrifield (born January 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals. He is a ...

expected to assume the starting second baseman role. However, an injury to shortstop

Adalberto Mondesí Raúl Adalberto Mondesí (born July 27, 1995) is a Dominican American professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. Mondesí is the first player in modern MLB histor ...

in the final game of Spring Training forced him onto the injured list, and Lopez began the regular season as the Royals shortstop. Mondesí was activated and made his season debut on May 25, but returned to the injured list with a separate injury on June 6. Lopez was listed on the Royals All-Star ballot at the designated hitter position, despite not having played a game there during the season, as the team put Mondesí on the ballot at shortstop and Merrifield at second base. On August 19, Lopez hit his first home run of the season in a 3–6 loss against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. Lopez ended 2021 with 78 runs, 43 RBIs, 22 stolen bases and a .300 batting average, becoming the first regular Royals shortstop to bat .300 or better in a season. Defensively, he led all qualifying AL shortstops with a .987 fielding percentage.

Atlanta Braves

On July 30, 2023, the Royals traded Lopez to the

in exchange for Taylor Hearn. In his first start for the Braves on August 12, Lopez recorded four hits, including a 3-run home run, at the plate and finished the game on the mound, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a 21–3 victory against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Chicago White Sox

On November 16, 2023, the Braves traded Lopez to the

, along with

Michael Soroka Michael John Graydon Soroka (born August 4, 1997) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Calgary, Soroka graduated from Bishop Carroll High School. He was drafted 28th ...

Jared Shuster Jared Craig Shuster (born August 3, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Wake Forest University. The Atlanta Braves selected him in the first ro ...

Braden Shewmake Braden Jack Shewmake (born November 19, 1997) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Atlanta Braves selected Shewmake with the 21st overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, and he ...

, and Riley Gowens for

Aaron Bummer Aaron James Bummer (born September 21, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Bummer attended Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, Arizona and was drafted by ...

International career

Lopez played for the Italy national baseball team at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

References

External links

Creighton Bluejays bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Nicky Living people 1995 births Sportspeople from Naperville, Illinois Baseball players from DuPage County, Illinois Major League Baseball infielders Kansas City Royals players Atlanta Braves players Creighton Bluejays baseball players Burlington Royals players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Surprise Saguaros players American people of Italian descent 2023 World Baseball Classic players