Royals’ Nick Heath had the best year of his life, and the majors may be calling soon
When the Kansas City Royals were making the phrase “that’s what speed do” their national mantra and part of the magical memories compiled during postseason runs in 2014 and 2015, a young man from Kansas had just started to realize how his own athleticism translated to the baseball field.
Nick Heath, a 26-year-old from Junction City, Kansas, played for the Royals’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2019. This past season, he made a name for himself in the minor leagues by channeling the spirit of past Royals and running wild.
Heath’s 60 stolen bases in 73 chances led the minors, and he turned the base path into a racetrack in this era where the sport that has increasingly been played in a station-to-station fashion at the highest levels.
“This whole last year has been a blur because everything has been happening so fast, but it’s the best year of my life,” Heath said in a recent phone interview with The Star.
Yes. It’s probably appropriate that a 6-foot-1, 187-pound bundle of explosive fast-twitch muscle fibers would use the term “blur.”
Last fall, he earned All-Prospect recognition in the Arizona Fall League. He followed up with his most productive season in the minors.
While recapping the events of the past year, Heath blurted out, “Who thought I’d have been in Triple-A this year?”
He’d never had been out of the country before, yet Heath played winter ball in the Dominican Republic and became a must-follow on Twitter as he posted photos of his journey, including him on a boat and sporting a straw hat that looked like it could’ve come directly off the head of a scarecrow. He almost always appeared laughing alongside teammates.
He also posted video interviews with teammates as Heath wielded a microphone and an infectious smile as they mixed English and Spanish with laughs.
Buenas tardes, yo soy Nick Heath!
He capped the year off by earning a spot on the Royals’ 40-man roster, which means the youngster who grew up a two-hour drive from Kauffman Stadium is now knocking on the door to the big leagues.
Cultivating speed
Heath originally committed to attend Coffeyville Community College and play for head coach Andy Morgan. When Morgan got the assistant coach job at Division I Northwestern State in Louisiana, Morgan called his undersized recruit out of Junction City High School and told him his new school had an opening for an outfielder.
Heath graduated high school weighing 135 pounds standing 5-foot-7, but Morgan remained confident in Heath’s potential.
“We always said Nick’s got a chance to play in the big leagues,” Morgan said. “Tools-wise, work-ethic-wise, he’s got a chance to play in the big leagues. Now, it’s a long road and he’s got to work and he’s got to get better and all that stuff, but his work ethic and his tools, those were things we talked about.”
Morgan, now the head coach at Northeast Texas Community College, had known Heath for years before he brought him to Northwestern State.
Heath took private lessons from Morgan’s father as a youth player, and Morgan knew that Heath’s mother had been a track star at Kansas State.
Heath’s mother Kimberly Kilpatrick, now Kimberly Milleson, ran the 100 meter hurdles in the Olympic Trials in 1988.
Morgan believed in the potential within Heath’s genes, his raw athleticism and the fact that he’d played a limited amount of baseball growing up in Kansas as opposed to other areas of the country where youths play all year.
“You just knew that he was going to be a special player,” Morgan said. “He’s one of those guys that we talk about in college and you kind of go we’re never going to see him at his best. We’re not going to be able to coach it, like he’s going to be so much better five years from now type of thing.”
Morgan believed once the physical maturity came, Heath could “absolutely” be a professional player.
First, Heath had to weather the initial storm.
“I kind of got my butt kicked at first,” Heath said. “Everyone was a little bit bigger, stronger and faster.”
He “couldn’t keep up” with his teammates. He was overwhelmed by the velocity and movement of pitches. In his mind, everyone else seemed “five steps ahead.”
Heath redshirted his first year on campus, and he stayed behind when the team went on the road. He’d either be in the gym with the strength coach or hitting with the other redshirt players.
And his new favorite pastime became eating.
“My rule was in the cafeteria before my 8 a.m. (class), in there at lunch before practice and then cafeteria right after practice,” Heath said. “If I had a coach come in and didn’t see me in there at any point, I had some running to do.”
As his body developed to where Heath could earn time on the field, the Northwestern State coaching staff forced him to develop his game.
They required him to execute a bunt or a hit-and-run at least once a game. And after he got on base, he faced a clear mandate.
“He kind of just told me, ‘Hey man, you’ve got three pitches before I need you at the next bag,’” Heath said.
That approach combined Heath’s strengths and the aggressive style of play Northwestern State’s then head coach Lane Burroughs, now the head coach at Louisiana Tech, preferred.
Along the way, something clicked for Heath. He realized using his legs as the central part of his offensive game made him a weapon.
On the radar
The Royals selected Heath in the 16th round of the 2016 draft. He left Northwestern State after his redshirt junior season and ranked third in the program’s history with 75 stolen bases. He’d set the single-season record with 35 in his final year.
The left-handed hitting outfielder continued to utilize his speed as a weapon in his first three minor-league seasons, but he took it to another stage this season in Double-A Northwest Arkansas along with fellow outfielder Khalil Lee. Lee stole 53 bases this season.
Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo found it remarkable that despite everyone in the Texas League knowing that Heath and Lee were going to run every time they were on base, they still couldn’t be stopped.
Heath batted .266 with a .348 on-base percentage and a .387 slugging percentage in a career-high 105 games combined between Double-A and Triple-A. He also struck out a career-high 143 times. His tendency to swing and miss remains one area that could hold him back from reaching the majors.
Heath spent much of this season working with Northwestern Arkansas making adjustments to his swing with the help of hitting coach Abraham Nunez.
“Nunie” and Heath worked toward making Heath more relaxed in the box before the pitcher starts his motion. They changed his stance so he’s not so crouched and his hands aren’t quite as high as they used to be. The bat now rests on his shoulder.
They’ve also worked on his approach at the plate with the goal of making him more selective, and using the big part of the field and trying to hit line drives the other way instead of being so pull oriented.
Heath said he felt like his swings went from defensive to looking to drive the ball.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore spoke positively about Heath’s potential during the MLB Winter Meetings. He conveyed the observations of senior advisor and former longtime scout Donnie Williams.
“Donnie Williams thinks Nick Heath will help us in center field this year,” Moore said. “He’s probably seen this player more than anybody else in that room. Almost every time Northwest Arkansas plays, Donnie Williams is there.
“Donnie has seen this player continue to evolve and get better and get better, and just thinks he’s trending in the right way. He’s highly confident. He has got a great personality. He believes in himself. We’re looking forward to watching him compete and continue to get better.”
Almost home
Heath knows he hasn’t gotten over the hump yet, but just being added to the 40-man roster caused him to reflect on how far he’s progressed from the days he thought everyone on the field was so far ahead of him.
“To be added to the 40-man roster at the end of it, it’s just — it’s a blessing,” Heath said. “It’s one of those moments that you kind of just stop and take a second and go, we’re closer than we thought we were.
“Obviously, we’re not all the way there yet. But when you look at now versus looking at it maybe five or six years ago when I didn’t even think I’d play pro ball, it just puts a smile on my face.”
The “we” Heath often mentions signifies his constant acknowledgment that he didn’t get to this point alone, and there’s more than just him chasing his dream.
Teammates past and present, friends, family, coaches, the support system he credits for helping him along the way, they’re all part of the “we.” Many are still within the Royals’ geographical footprint.
One of the first things on Heath’s agenda after winter ball — he got back about two weeks ago — was a visit to his grandparents who still live outside of Kansas City.
He also has a sister attending the University of Kansas.
The Royals have been a hometown team for Heath, and it does add a bit of stress to the equation. But he’d rather have it than not be this close to the majors.
“There are times you get a little anxious about it,” Heath said. “What’s going to happen? What’s going to happen? You know, you never want to let anybody down. You never want to make it seem like you didn’t do everything you could to get there.
“Just to be this close and to know that it’s close to home, it’s definitely a little bit of added pressure because I want to be able to show the people from back there what you can do, what I was capable of doing. Like I said, I’ve had a good support system they still support me no matter what. They’re always just giving me positive energy. I’m super excited to be able to get to this point.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
