Former Wildcat shortstop, Connor Heady, is beginning to heat up as the starting shortstop for the Ogden Raptors. The Raptors are the rookie affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers; the organization that drafted Heady with their 23rd round selection in last months MLB Draft.
Heady, a native of Louisville, KY, was a four-year player at the University of Kentucky, but posted the best season of his career under coaches Nick Mingione and Roland Fanning. While occupying the final spot in the order, Heady posted career highs in batting average (.276), hits (58), HR’s (7), RBI (32), walks (36), OBP (.399), and slugging % (.419). The solid senior season was a bounce back from a disappointing junior season, in which he appeared in only 21 games.
Following a quiet start to his professional career, Heady found success at the dish over the last six games. During that stretch of games, he is hitting .384 with 10 hits in his last 26 at bats, which has raised his average to .306 through 13 games this summer. Four of those six games have been multi-hit nights, but none bigger than last night’s explosion vs. the Missoula Osprey.
Heady went 3-for-4, including 2 HR’s and 3 RBI, during yesterday’s 11-2 win. Heady’s first hit of the night was an RBI double to center field. An inning later, he hit his first HR of his professional career, a solo-shot to left, but the former Wildcat was just getting warmed up. Two innings later, Heady decided to cover all areas of the field, as his second HR of the game cleared the wall in right field.
Heady will look to build on last night’s success and keep his hot streak going tonight vs. Missoula. First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST.
Photo belongs to UKAthletics
