On Friday, the Dodgers claimed right-handed pitcher Chris Heston off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. In his last option year, he was immediately optioned to the Oklahoma City Dodgers in the Pacific Coast League.

Heston is a three-time draftee having first been selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 47th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida. He was again picked in the 2008 draft by the Washington Nationals in the 29th round, once again out of Seminole Community College. Having improved his draft lot considerably, he signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2009 after being drafted in the 12th round out of East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

The Palm Bay, Florida native toiled six years in the Giants farm system capping off that portion of his minor league career with the Fresno Grizzlies in the AAA Pacific Coast League in 2014. He had a 12-9 record while posting a 3.38 ERA and a 1.173 WHIP along with 125 strikeouts and 51 walks in 173 innings.

Chris Heston
(Photo credit – Ken Lambert)

Heston left spring training in 2015 having earned a spot in the Giants rotation and he certainly had an impressive rookie season. Over 31 starts and 177.2 innings pitched he won 12 games along with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.311 WHIP. He struck out 141 and walked 64.

Undoubtedly the high light of his 2015 season was the near perfect game he spun against the New York Mets on June 9. The three blemishes on his perfect game quest came on three hit batters. He limited the Mets to two balls hit out of the infield. For good measure, he had two hits of his own, one an RBI single.

The awestruck now 29-year old rookie didn’t quite know how to celebrate his achievement although he was given a standing ovation by the Citi Field crowd in New York.

“I wasn’t too sure where to go after that last out,” Heston said in an aw-shucks manner, looking boyish despite a day or two of stubble.

He naturally took the ball from the final out with him, but indicated he didn’t have any designated place to display it as he didn’t have a trophy case.

“I don’t have enough stuff for one,” he said.

The 6’-3” / 195-pound Heston didn’t throw bullets but kept the Mets hitters off balance all evening long. Perhaps it helped that the Mets were missing a couple of key players but a pitcher still has to follow his game plan.

“Obviously, those guys would have helped tonight, there’s no question of that. But you don’t want to take anything away,” said former Met Michael Cuddyer said. “He had a really good sinker and he kept everybody off balance with a couple of different kinds of breaking balls, curveballs, one obviously slower and one a little quicker, good slider.”

Regardless of how his career goes from here, that moment can never be taken away from him.

“It was awesome, to walk in and having the whole team sitting there, congratulating me,” he said. “Definitely a special moment. I’ll remember that forever.”

His expectations for 2016 were quickly dashed as he spent a good portion of the season on the DL, one stint on the 60-day DL with an oblique strain.

He pitched only 92.1 innings over three levels in the Giants minor league season in 2016 and in December was traded to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later.

During the current campaign Heston pitched only five innings with the Mariners while making six starts with the AAA Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League. With the Rainiers, he logged 31.2 innings with a 3.41 ERA and 1.168 WHIP while striking out 28 and walking 11.

Heston last pitched with the Seattle Mariners on May 21 so he could soon see action with the OKC Dodgers.