New York Yankees’ Outfielder Slade Heathcott Disappoints Once Again

Just months before the New York Yankees won their 27^th World Series, they drafted outfielder Slade Heathcott in the first round out of Texas High School. He received a $2.2 million signing bonus and headed to the Gulf Coast League to begin his career.

Now over six years later, Heathcott was optioned to minor league camp just weeks before the 2016 season begins.

Heathcott has just 17 major league games under his belt, but once again will spend time in the minor leagues. With Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Aaron Hicks under contract, there just isn’t room for him on the Opening Day roster. But, what about the future?

The future still doesn’t look bright for Heathcott, who is No. 18 on the team’s prospect list. He trails four other outfielders on the list and hasn’t impressed the team so far.

He batted .045 in 11 games during Spring Training and has struck out nine times. His OBP and SLG percentages are also under .100, proving he still may not be ready for the big show.

Beltran will most likely retire at the end of this season, but his spot will most likely be given to Aaron Judge, who could end up as the team’s next feared slugger. The other three outfielders have years left on contracts or are arbitration eligible, leaving not much room for another outfielder on the Yankees.

Dustin Fowler, Ben Gamel and Mason Williams will also be in competition with Heathcott for a spot on the team. But nothing is a guarantee, especially for Heathcott, who hasn’t been the talent the Yankees had hoped he’d be.

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He has had a drinking problem in the past, but has turned his life around citing Alcoholics Anonymous and religion. Since being drafted he has had multiple surgeries on his shoulders and knees and even spent some time on the Major League disabled list last season. It hasn’t been an ideal situation for Heathcott, but he still has made the best of it, even hitting the game-winning home run for the Yankees in September.

But just this week, Heathcott was sent back to the minor league camp, probably for multiple reasons. His offense definitely wasn’t cutting it, but another event definitely could have played a part. Last week he missed the bus to a game, and ended up not playing in it.

It was the second time he did something like this; six years ago he overslept in camp and missed a game. Of course he didn’t do it on purpose, but it doesn’t help someone battling for a spot.

The outfielder has shown glimpses of greatness, but has had far too many disappointments and distractions on the way. It’s tough to see him as a regular on the Yankees, but a good season in the minors could be a start.