Asked to fill in for Nick Ryan – the shortstop from Naperville Central’s 2010 Class 4A state champions – 10 games into his sophomore year was daunting enough.
But Nick Lopez believed good things would eventually happen.
“I always thought I was pretty good, pretty talented,” he said. “Even when I got to Creighton, though, I really didn’t think baseball was going to take off after my freshman and sophomore year. But luckily after my sophomore summer going into my junior year, I put myself in position to get drafted and then the rest just took off.”
Lopez’s glove at shortstop felt comfortable from his first appearance in a high school game – an 8-0 win over West Aurora on April 12, 2011.
For the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Lopez, it was a question of getting the bat up to speed.
In a year’s time, he raised his average 128 points in a year to .398 as a senior in 2013 – earning All-DuPage Valley Conference recognition.
Less than three years ago, Lopez became the highest Naperville Central graduate taken in the MLB Draft when the Royals selected him in the fifth round out of Creighton in June 2016.
Clint Jensen, Mike Haverty, Aaron Pembroke, Tyler Turnquist, Pat Tumilty, Colin Bates, Kyle Kaminska and Shane Conlon are all among the best Naperville Central has offered.
For a program that owns two state titles (2006 and 2010), Lopez is now in a class all to himself, as of May 14, 2019.
Working up towards the majors
The distinction of being the first Naperville Central (and Naperville Community High School) alumnus to reach the major leagues isn’t something he takes lightly.
“I didn’t (give much thought to it in moment), but right now I am,” Lopez said. “I’m the first one. Is it the first one? First one out of Naperville Central, so, yeah, that’s something pretty cool. I always told (Mike) Stock that one day I want to be able to put my big league uniform in the hallways of Naperville Central. So now I’ll be able to do that, hopefully.”
A career-best .306 average as a junior at Creighton in 2016 led to hitting .296 in 352 games across four stops in the Royals’ minor-league system.
Lopez was honored by the Royals with the 2018 George Brett Hitter of the Year after hitting .308 in 130 combined games at AA and AAA.
The expectations the organization have for him are evident.
Thrust into the two-hole and at second base alongside Adalberto Mondesi at shortstop, Lopez’s ascension forced Whit Merrifield to switch positions.
So it’s quite appropriate that Merrifield was the one Lopez knocked in for his first career hit and RBI in the seventh inning of the Royals’ 11-5 victory over the Rangers on May 14.
“I’m just blessed and thankful that they think highly of me,” Lopez said. “But it just says a lot about Whit’s character and Whit’s leadership. Not a lot of people would probably do that, but Whit’s a great leader.
“He’s a high character guy and for him to just be like, ‘Yeah, let’s move for the betterment of the team to go to outfield or whatever it was.’ It’s definitely a blessing and I’m thankful for it. It just says a lot about who Whit is as a player and a person.”