Kingham is used to getting overlooked
BRADENTON, Fla. — Nick Kingham is used to getting overlooked.
While growing up in Las Vegas, the Pirates right-handed prospect was overshadowed by Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper. Sports Illustrated put Harper on its cover when he was a junior in high school and proclaimed him to be baseball’s version of LeBron James.
Harper has gone on to a certain degree of fame, though his exploits in the major leagues haven’t matched those of James in the NBA.
Kingham, meanwhile, is still in the background. While Baseball America ranks him as the Pirates’ sixth-best prospect, he gets scant attention compared to right-handers Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon, who are rated as the top two prospects in the system.
However, the 23-year-old Kingham is likely to beat those other two to the major leagues as he will begin the season in the Class AAA Indianapolis rotation. Kingham made 14 starts at Indy last season following 12 with Class AA Altoona and went a combined 6-11 with a 3.34 ERA.
Meanwhile, Taillon will stay behind in extended spring training as he finishes his rehab from Tommy John elbow ligament reconstruction surgery performed last April. The Pirates hope to assign Taillon to Indianapolis by the beginning of May.
Glasnow will be assigned to Altoona out of spring training with an eye on a promotion to Indianapolis at some point in the summer.
Kingham isn’t in a competition to beat Taillon and Glasnow to Pittsburgh. He just has a great desire to pitch in the big leagues, especially being one step away.
“You see guys going up all the time when you’re in Triple-A,” Kingham said after a recent spring training workout. “You kind of wish it was you, but at the same time, you know you’ll get that call up when it’s the right time.”
The time should come soon enough, and though Kingham may never have the name recognition of Harper, he feels he has made great progress since the Pirates selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 amateur draft from Sierra Vista High School.
“I definitely feel like I’m not the same guy I was when I was 18 years old and first signed,” Kingham said. “I’m proud of where I’m at right now. The coaching staff and everybody that helped me develop, I owe a lot of thanks for them working with me and molding me into the pitcher I am today.”