Slade Heathcott

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Slade Heathcott
New York Yankees
Outfielder
Born: (1990-09-28) September 28, 1990
Texarkana, Arkansas
Bats: Left Throws: Left

Zachary Slade Heathcott (born September 28, 1990) is an American professional baseball player. He plays in minor league baseball as an outfielder in the New York Yankees organization.

Early life

Zachary Slade Heathcott was born in Texarkana, Arkansas. His mother, Kimberly, became pregnant with Slade while a teenager. Her relationship with Slade's biological father ended soon thereafter, and she married Jeff Heathcott, who adopted Slade.[1] Jeff was arrested and convicted for forgery. The couple divorced while Slade was in high school. Kimberly relocated with Slade's younger brother, Zane, to Alexandria, Louisiana, while Slade remained in high school, attending Texas High School in Texarkana. Heathcott spent his senior year of high school living out of his truck.[1]

At Texas High, Heathcott starred for the baseball and American football teams.[2] An outfielder and pitcher for the baseball team,[3] Heathcott led Texas High to the state's Class 4A baseball championship in his senior season.[4][5] He appeared in the Aflac All-American Game[6] and committed to attend Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship.[4] For the football team, Heathcott played linebacker.[7]

Professional career

Heathcott was drafted by the Yankees in the first round, with the 29th overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. Louisiana State withdrew their scholarship to Heathcott and he signed with the Yankees, receiving a $2.2 million signing bonus. He reported to the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League to make his professional debut.[8] He played for the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) during the 2010 season, where he had a modest .258 batting average and struck out 101 times.[9] Heathcott required offseason shoulder surgery.[1] Returning to Charleston in 2011, he improved his batting average to .297 in his first 47 games, and was named to the SAL all-star team.[10] He was promoted to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League that June.[11] He played in one game for Tampa before missing the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Recovering from his injury, Heathcott played for the Tampa during the 2012 season. After the 2012 season, he played in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions. He was named week four's player of the week.[2] The Yankees invited Heathcott to spring training in 2013.[12] Playing for the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League in 2013, Heathcott compiled a .261 batting average, eight home runs, and 49 runs batted in in 103 games played.[13]

Heathcott was added to the Yankees 40-man roster on November 20, 2013.[13]

Personal

During his junior year of high school, Heathcott was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and got kicked off the baseball team for academic reasons. He also admitted to pointing a 12 gauge shotgun at his father during an argument.[1]

The Yankees found out about Heathcott's alcohol problem when he blacked out and lost his passport the night before he was to fly to the Dominican Republic.[1] They introduced him to Sam Marsonek, who took Heathcott to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Heathcott credits finding religion with helping him to turn around his personal life.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Sapakoff, Gene (May 13, 2011). "Tale of salvation: Formerly a tormented teen, RiverDogs star and top Yankee prospect Slade Heathcott has turned his life around". The Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ketchum, Don (November 6, 2012). "Heathcott overcoming struggles, AFL pitchers". MLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Despite departures, Texarkana still loaded » Legion series". The Enid News and Eagle. Enid, Oklahoma. August 6, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grall, Dennis (July 31, 2009). "Heathcott must pick Yankees or LSU". Escanaba, Michigan: The Daily Press. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  5. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (June 16, 2009). "Struggling Wang Pitching With Job on the Line". The New York Times. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  6. ↑ "Shut out for eight innings, East rallies for 4–2 victory". Los Angeles Times. April 11, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  7. ↑ Kretzschmar, Rick (September 27, 2008). "Lobos dominate Texas High, 41-7". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2012.  (subscription required)
  8. ↑ Hoch, Bryan (August 17, 2009). "Yankees sign first two Draft picks". MLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  9. ↑ Boland, Erik (April 28, 2011). "Prospect Heathcott hitting his stride". Newsday. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  10. ↑ "Heathcott an all-star starter". The Post and Courier. June 8, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  11. ↑ Heck, David (June 29, 2011). "Heathcott homers in debut with Tampa". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2012. 
  12. ↑ Marchand, Andrew (February 27, 2013). "Get to Know: Slade Heathcott". ESPN New York. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 10, 2014. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hoch, Bryan (November 20, 2013). "Yanks make deal with Padres, add six to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved January 10, 2014. 

External links

New York Yankees current roster
Active roster
Restricted list
Coaching staff
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