‘He’s a Weapon’ – Heinrich Making Most of Lone Season at K-State
Apr 29, 2022 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Go ahead. Ask Jeff Heinrich if he's ever heard of anything like this. Ask him if he's ever seen a college baseball player hit eight home runs in his first 20 hits. That's the torrid pace of the Kansas State senior designated hitter. Yes sir, Heinrich, a South Carolina transfer, missed the first month of this season due to a bad right hamstring. Once recovered, he stepped up to the plate. And now, it seems, no opponent is safe.
"He's a weapon," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "He's a three-run homer waiting to happen. He's been hot. He's been swinging a good bat. He's been good in that eight hole."
"The ball," Hughes says, "really comes off his bat."
A sampling of some mind-numbing, is-this-really-happening individual feats in K-State history: Once, Will Scott drained 21 of 34 3-point attempts in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Once, Askia Jones made 14 of 18 3-point attempts in a game in 1994. Once, Rock Cartwright scored a touchdown on three of the first nine carries of his career in 2000. Once, Glenn Gronkowski scored touchdowns on three of his five receptions and averaged 38.3 yards per catch in 2013. Once, Jordan Wicks struck out 118 batters in 14 starts last season.
Now it's 2022, and, well, hitting eight homers in just 20 hits fits that is-this-really-happening category. Forty percent of the time, when Heinrich hits a ball, it goes over the wall.
"He's pretty much due for a home run once a game," K-State sophomore leftfielder Dom Johnson says. "He's going to hit you something far."
Here are some facts: Heinrich has appeared in 22 games with one start in left field and 13 starts as designated hitter, including each of the last seven games. He is batting 20 for 61 (.328) with 12 extra-base hits, including eight homers, and has driven in 18 runs.
Five of his eight home runs have been multi-run shots. He hit two-run homers against Central Connecticut, Oklahoma State, UC Irvine and at Nebraska on Tuesday night. He hit a grand slam against Omaha on April 19. He has six homers in the month of April and four in the last five games.
If Heinrich played in 75% of the games this season (thanks, bad hamstring), he would currently rank second in the Big 12 Conference in home runs per game:
1. Ivan Melendez (Texas) — 0.512 home runs/game
2. Jeff Heinrich (K-State) — 0.363
3. Murphy Stehly (Texas) — 0.285
4. Dylan Phillips (K-State) — 0.282
5. Trey Faltine (Texas) — 0.279
He would also rank 10th nationally in slugging percentage (.787) if he had enough at-bats to qualify this season.
The question is this: What is the key to this success?
Heinrich laughs in bemusement.
Reason No. 1: "I just try to stay as level-headed as I can," he says.
Reason No. 2: "I normally punish the fastball if it's hittable," he says.
Reason No. 3: "I've been more aggressive on off-speed pitches," he says.
Reason No. 4: "When it's up in the zone, I can normally get a good barrel on it," he says. "My swing is feeling better. I've felt more comfortable in the box, and I'm seeing the ball a lot better."
Truth is, Heinrich, a 6-foot, 190-pound native of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, is grateful for the chance to see the ball at all. He felt like he was underutilized (91 at-bats in 23 starts) while recording seven runs scored, six doubles, a home run and 10 RBI last season at South Carolina. His favorite college moment is scoring the game-winning run against No. 5 Florida in a 9-8 win after 14 innings. But highlights were rare. He didn't contribute like he had hoped. He feels like he didn't get a fair shake. And that's fair.
Heinrich didn't know where he'd land, but he knew he needed to get out of South Carolina — a school that he chose over other potential suitors, including K-State, coming out of McHenry (Ill.) County College. All Heinrich wanted was a chance. Heinrich was selected in the 40th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Player Draft by the San Francisco Giants (he hit .466 as a freshman and .405 as a sophomore in junior college) but he chose to play at Division I.
But…
"Coming out of South Carolina, it was a hard pill to swallow," Heinrich says. "I felt like I had so much more that I could be doing in baseball. That's really been my main focus this season, is leaving it all on the field."
Heinrich entered the transfer portal three days after South Carolina ended its season. K-State came calling. And that was that. Heinrich knew K-State was his destination. Other schools called. He told them that he wasn't interested. Heinrich already knew some K-State players from summer league. He heard about the culture and the fact that everyone played with a chip on their shoulder — "Proving people wrong is our whole thing," he says. He figured he'd fit right in. Sight unseen, he drove to Manhattan.
Then a week before the start of this season, Heinrich was running out a pop-up in practice and felt his right hamstring tighten between first and second base.
"Really difficult," he says. "While everyone was getting ready for the season, I was rehabbing the hamstring. It took a toll on me mentally."
Heinrich's absence affected the Wildcats as well. They were counting on him. They were eager to see what he could do. They knew he was hungry. They knew he had dreams. They knew he could be an offensive weapon.
"Wish we had him earlier in the season," Hughes says. "That really hurt us the whole first month of the season when that hamstring (injury) wouldn't go away."
Heinrich's first full game at K-State was against Central Connecticut on March 12.
That day, he hit his first home run as a Wildcat.
As the second half of the Big 12 Conference season approaches, there are still blank pages left to fill in Heinrich's first and only season at K-State. There's a tale still left to be told, a story oozing with is-this-really-happening moments — a testament to resiliency, perseverance, and a never-give-up mentality that replays many nights, as the Tointon Family Stadium lights blink like strobe lights in celebration and high-energy music pelts the Manhattan sky after another ball launched by Heinrich clears the wall.
The story is a classic K-State piece, one handed down through the years that epitomizes the character of K-State athletes, and that shapes the sports that we watch. It's as ever-present as Willie Wildcat. It's as commonplace as the Powercat. Really, it's the fabric of K-State.
"In life there are ups and downs," Heinrich says. "I just want to prove to everybody that I can not only play Division I baseball, but I can compete and be a threat. I'm just working hard. And I'm trying to enjoy every moment."
Go ahead. Ask Jeff Heinrich if he's ever heard of anything like this. Ask him if he's ever seen a college baseball player hit eight home runs in his first 20 hits. That's the torrid pace of the Kansas State senior designated hitter. Yes sir, Heinrich, a South Carolina transfer, missed the first month of this season due to a bad right hamstring. Once recovered, he stepped up to the plate. And now, it seems, no opponent is safe.
"He's a weapon," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "He's a three-run homer waiting to happen. He's been hot. He's been swinging a good bat. He's been good in that eight hole."
"The ball," Hughes says, "really comes off his bat."
A sampling of some mind-numbing, is-this-really-happening individual feats in K-State history: Once, Will Scott drained 21 of 34 3-point attempts in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Once, Askia Jones made 14 of 18 3-point attempts in a game in 1994. Once, Rock Cartwright scored a touchdown on three of the first nine carries of his career in 2000. Once, Glenn Gronkowski scored touchdowns on three of his five receptions and averaged 38.3 yards per catch in 2013. Once, Jordan Wicks struck out 118 batters in 14 starts last season.
Now it's 2022, and, well, hitting eight homers in just 20 hits fits that is-this-really-happening category. Forty percent of the time, when Heinrich hits a ball, it goes over the wall.
"He's pretty much due for a home run once a game," K-State sophomore leftfielder Dom Johnson says. "He's going to hit you something far."
Here are some facts: Heinrich has appeared in 22 games with one start in left field and 13 starts as designated hitter, including each of the last seven games. He is batting 20 for 61 (.328) with 12 extra-base hits, including eight homers, and has driven in 18 runs.
Five of his eight home runs have been multi-run shots. He hit two-run homers against Central Connecticut, Oklahoma State, UC Irvine and at Nebraska on Tuesday night. He hit a grand slam against Omaha on April 19. He has six homers in the month of April and four in the last five games.
If Heinrich played in 75% of the games this season (thanks, bad hamstring), he would currently rank second in the Big 12 Conference in home runs per game:
1. Ivan Melendez (Texas) — 0.512 home runs/game
2. Jeff Heinrich (K-State) — 0.363
3. Murphy Stehly (Texas) — 0.285
4. Dylan Phillips (K-State) — 0.282
5. Trey Faltine (Texas) — 0.279
He would also rank 10th nationally in slugging percentage (.787) if he had enough at-bats to qualify this season.
The question is this: What is the key to this success?
Heinrich laughs in bemusement.
Reason No. 1: "I just try to stay as level-headed as I can," he says.
Reason No. 2: "I normally punish the fastball if it's hittable," he says.
Reason No. 3: "I've been more aggressive on off-speed pitches," he says.
Reason No. 4: "When it's up in the zone, I can normally get a good barrel on it," he says. "My swing is feeling better. I've felt more comfortable in the box, and I'm seeing the ball a lot better."
Truth is, Heinrich, a 6-foot, 190-pound native of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, is grateful for the chance to see the ball at all. He felt like he was underutilized (91 at-bats in 23 starts) while recording seven runs scored, six doubles, a home run and 10 RBI last season at South Carolina. His favorite college moment is scoring the game-winning run against No. 5 Florida in a 9-8 win after 14 innings. But highlights were rare. He didn't contribute like he had hoped. He feels like he didn't get a fair shake. And that's fair.
Heinrich didn't know where he'd land, but he knew he needed to get out of South Carolina — a school that he chose over other potential suitors, including K-State, coming out of McHenry (Ill.) County College. All Heinrich wanted was a chance. Heinrich was selected in the 40th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Player Draft by the San Francisco Giants (he hit .466 as a freshman and .405 as a sophomore in junior college) but he chose to play at Division I.
But…
"Coming out of South Carolina, it was a hard pill to swallow," Heinrich says. "I felt like I had so much more that I could be doing in baseball. That's really been my main focus this season, is leaving it all on the field."
Heinrich entered the transfer portal three days after South Carolina ended its season. K-State came calling. And that was that. Heinrich knew K-State was his destination. Other schools called. He told them that he wasn't interested. Heinrich already knew some K-State players from summer league. He heard about the culture and the fact that everyone played with a chip on their shoulder — "Proving people wrong is our whole thing," he says. He figured he'd fit right in. Sight unseen, he drove to Manhattan.
Then a week before the start of this season, Heinrich was running out a pop-up in practice and felt his right hamstring tighten between first and second base.
"Really difficult," he says. "While everyone was getting ready for the season, I was rehabbing the hamstring. It took a toll on me mentally."
Heinrich's absence affected the Wildcats as well. They were counting on him. They were eager to see what he could do. They knew he was hungry. They knew he had dreams. They knew he could be an offensive weapon.
"Wish we had him earlier in the season," Hughes says. "That really hurt us the whole first month of the season when that hamstring (injury) wouldn't go away."
Heinrich's first full game at K-State was against Central Connecticut on March 12.
That day, he hit his first home run as a Wildcat.
As the second half of the Big 12 Conference season approaches, there are still blank pages left to fill in Heinrich's first and only season at K-State. There's a tale still left to be told, a story oozing with is-this-really-happening moments — a testament to resiliency, perseverance, and a never-give-up mentality that replays many nights, as the Tointon Family Stadium lights blink like strobe lights in celebration and high-energy music pelts the Manhattan sky after another ball launched by Heinrich clears the wall.
The story is a classic K-State piece, one handed down through the years that epitomizes the character of K-State athletes, and that shapes the sports that we watch. It's as ever-present as Willie Wildcat. It's as commonplace as the Powercat. Really, it's the fabric of K-State.
"In life there are ups and downs," Heinrich says. "I just want to prove to everybody that I can not only play Division I baseball, but I can compete and be a threat. I'm just working hard. And I'm trying to enjoy every moment."
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