New York Yankees Heathcott was drafted by the
New York 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. 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. Heathcott required offseason shoulder surgery. He was promoted to the
Tampa Yankees of the
Class A-Advanced Florida State League that June. He played in one game for Tampa before missing time with a shoulder injury. He had surgery, and missed the remainder of the season. 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. 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 (RBIs) in 103 games played. He underwent knee surgery during the offseason. In 2014, Heathcott played in nine games for the Thunder before his knee injury returned, which required surgery and ended his season. During the offseason, the Yankees opted not to tender Heathcott a contract. Within two days of his non-tender, 15 teams reached out to Heathcott's agent. Heathcott and the Yankees agreed on a minor league contract where he would be paid $110,000 instead of the expected $72,500 salary and an
opt-out set for July 1 in case the Yankees had not readded Heathcott to the 40-man roster. He won the
James P. Dawson Award, given each year to the best
rookie in spring training. Healthy to start the season, Heathcott was assigned to the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the
Class AAA International League. He batted .285 with 17 RBIs in his first 37 games. He made his MLB debut that day, and received his first start on May 22. He hit his first MLB home run on May 25 against the
Kansas City Royals' closer
Greg Holland. After batting .353 (6-for-17) with a home run and three RBIs in six games for the Yankees, Heathcott went on the disabled list when an
MRI diagnosed him with a
strained quadriceps femoris muscle. The Yankees activated him from the disabled list and
optioned him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 31. The Yankees promoted Heathcott after the end of the RailRiders' season on September 12. In his first at-bat after the promotion, Heathcott hit a game-winning home run against the
Tampa Bay Rays' closer
Brad Boxberger. Heathcott began the 2016 season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He batted .230 before suffering a knee injury, and went on the disabled list. As the Yankees also had left-handed outfielders
Ben Gamel,
Mason Williams,
Jake Cave, and
Dustin Fowler in their farm system, the team released Heathcott on May 26, 2016.
Chicago White Sox On June 14, 2016, Heathcott signed a minor league contract with the
Chicago White Sox. He spent the remainder of the season with the Triple–A
Charlotte Knights, also playing in seven games for the rookie–level
Arizona League White Sox. In 34 games for Charlotte, Heathcott batted .258/.407/.366 with two home runs and seven RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 7.
San Francisco Giants On March 18, 2017, Heathcott signed a minor league contract with the
San Francisco Giants organization. He began the 2017 season with the Double–A
Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Eastern League. and also played for the
Sacramento River Cats of the Triple–A
Pacific Coast League (PCL). In 119 games split between Richmond and Sacramento, he hit .267/.350/.435 with 14 home runs, 41 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. Heathcott elected free agency following the season on November 6.
Oakland Athletics in 2018 On January 8, 2018, Heathcott signed a minor league contract with the
Oakland Athletics and was assigned to the Triple–A
Nashville Sounds of the PCL. In 31 games for Nashville, he slashed .266/.333/.376 with one home run, nine RBI, and four stolen bases. Heathcott was released by the Athletics organization on May 15.
Sugar Land Skeeters On July 13, 2018, Heathcott signed with the
Sugar Land Skeeters of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 10 games for Sugar Land, he went 6–for–31 (.194) with three RBI and five walks. Heathcott became a free agent following the 2018 season. Heathcott announced his retirement from baseball on January 15, 2019, in order to become a
commercial pilot. ==Personal life==