Jon Heasley to make season debut for Kansas City Royals against hometown Texas Rangers
Jon Heasley made a push for a spot on the Kansas City Royals’ Opening Day roster back in spring training, but instead the right-hander began the season in the Triple-A rotation. But when Omaha Storm Chasers manager Scott Thorman called and asked Heasley what he thought about going “home,” he knew exactly what that meant.
A native of Plano, Texas, Heasley will start for the Royals on Thursday against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Heasley, 25, grew up rooting for the Rangers. He attended about five games per year on top of also going to watch the Frisco RoughRiders, their minor-league affiliate.
“A different ballpark, but just playing the hometown team is pretty cool,” Heasley said. “Just kind of seeing life come full circle is a really cool experience.”
Heasley made three starts for the Royals late last season, including his major-league debut, and he went 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA. He registered a 1.23 WHIP, six strikeouts and three walks in 14 2/3 innings.
Baseball America ranked him the 13th-best prospect in the Royals’ farm system entering this season, while MLBPipeline.com ranked him No. 9 in the Royals’ organization.
Starting so close to home for the first time as a big-leaguer means Heasley will surely have a small village worth of ticket requests to sort through, but he seemed to be embracing the hecticness of the moment.
“Obviously, I’m taking care of the family but kind of trying to figure out that balance,” Heasley said. “We’ll get everybody taken care of for sure though. I want as many as people that can make it as possible because I know there a lot of people that care and a lot of people I care about as well. It’s a fun time.”
So far this season at Triple-A, Heasley has made six starts and went 1-0 with a 4.44 ERA. He struck out 30 and walked just six. Opponents batted .198 against him and he recorded a WHIP of 0.95 through 26 1/3 innings.
“This time around, it feels a little bit different,” Heasley said of returning to the big leagues. “Having that first one out of the way, having a little bit of the taste. I’m really excited to be back, but now I feel like I’m here for a job, coming to compete and stay here and help the team win games as long as I can.”
The Royals also announced their pitching rotation for this weekend’s series against the Colorado Rockies in the last leg of their three-city road trip. Right-hander Zack Greinke (0-2, 2.67) will pitch the series opener on Friday, followed by right-hander Carlos Hernández (0-2. 7.15) on Saturday and left-hander Daniel Lynch (2-2, 4.01) on Sunday.
A pair of rainouts in Baltimore on Friday and Saturday, a doubleheader on Sunday and the demotion of Kris Bubic to the bullpen had temporarily thrown the Royals starting rotation into disarray.
