Outfielder Nick Heath, whom the Diamondbacks designated for assignment earlier in the week, has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Reno, according to the club. Arizona originally acquired Heath from the Royals earlier this year in a trade that sent minor league righty Eduardo Herrera to the Kansas City organization.
Heath, 27, draws 70 and 80 grades on the 20-80 scouting scale for his pure speed, but he struggled considerably at the plate with the Diamondbacks in a limited sample this year and with the Royals in 2020. Through 57 plate appearances in the Majors, Heath carries only a .146/.255/.188 line with a 36.8 percent strikeout rate.
Things have gone a bit better for Heath in Triple-A, where he’s posted a .289/.385/.434 line in 91 plate appearances this year. The extraordinarily hitter-friendly environments in Triple-A, however, render that production about four percent better than league-average, by measure of wRC+. That matches Heath’s output in 97 Triple-A plate appearances with the Royals back in 2019. Overall, Heath is a career .268/.351/.366 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons. He’s only hit 15 minor league home runs, but his 17 triples and 167 steals (in 208 attempts — an 80.3 percent success rate) highlight his impressive speed.
Good wheels but the OBP has to be better for a .260 hitter (based on minors stats). Hasn’t shown any skills at MLB levels, but he may be a late bloomer. With all the injuries this year, now is the time to show you belong.
I appreciate the optimism but there’s a reason he cleared wavers.
A younger version of Billy Hamilton…
With wheels like that, someone needs to take this kid under their wing and fix his hitting. Whether it’s his vision, or his bat speed, or maybe his guessing game…someone should be able to help him improve.
Though baseball history is rife with coulda-shoulda-woulda’s unfortunately.