Could Pratto have a breakout year?


Spring training for the Royals this season has been an exciting one to watch with our first look at Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo in Royals uniforms. The additions the team have made are hopefully going to help the team start winning again, not exactly a postseason run but at least a team that is competitive. 
Like the pitching, many of the position players are competing for roster spots including possibly first base. In highsight, Vinnie Pasquantino should have the job locked down if it weren't for his injuries last season that held him back. Pasquantino has the talent to be a big piece in the team's lineup with his bat. I would love to see Pasquantino succeed, but due to his inability to stay healthy, first base isn't a guarantee. 
That leaves the door open for Nick Pratto to come and steal the job at first. Kansas City selected Pratto with the 14th overall pick in 2017. Pratto was viewed as the team's next Eric Hosmer; but unfortunately, Pratto the past two seasons haven't been great. The 25-year old has a career .216 batting average with only 14 home runs with 55 RBI’s. The former 2021 minor league gold glove winner struggled at the big leagues with his glove as well. However, Pratto did show flashes of greatness with his glove throughout the season. Despite his struggles last season, Pratto seems to be improving greatly this spring for the Royals. Pratto this spring has played in only six games so far, but he has made the most of his limited opportunities. In 17 at bats, he has a batting average way above average even for a veteran at  .353. Pratto launched a three run bomb out of the park along with two RBI's in addition to his three run blast. 
The former first round pick has struggled a bit with swings and misses with 13. Pratto's career strikeouts is a whopping 43 in 60 career games played to this point. Pratto has improved greatly this spring training in many ways including lowering his amount of strikeouts to only three; but it's still pretty early in spring training so the first baseman's strikeout rate is likely to go up as all player's swings and misses do as they work to test out things that they may have adjusted this past offseason. Let's hope Pratto's strikeout rate doesn't go up too much, if at all. 
Unfortunately baseball isn't always fair to players who have a good spring, but luckily Pratto has the ability to play more than just first base. At this point the only way I see Pratto taking first base away from Pasquantino is if Pasquantino goes down with an injury or struggles this spring, which he has to this point. In 16 at bats, the first baseman is batting an abysmal .125 with three runs batted in. Pasquantino as I mentioned earlier has the talent to be good for the Royals mainly with his bat. Unfortunately, his numbers don't show it, but the power is definitely there. 
Fortunately for Pratto, first base isn't the only position he can play. Pratto has gotten some playing time in the outfield and at designated hitter. Last season the 26-year old played in 23 games in the outfield. Unlike first base, the outfield isn't all set in stone other than right field with the addition of Hunter Renfrone, and centerfield seems to be trending Kyle Isbel’s way.  Left field on the other hand isn't a lock. Nelson Velázquez was likely viewed by many fans as the team's everyday left fielder and designated hitter from time to time. Kansas City heading into the 2024 season views the 25-year old as their designated hitter. Velázquez has been awful this spring with a batting average of  .111 not to mention his inability to make good contact with the ball. If Velázquez continues to struggle, he may lose his opportunity to play leftfield to MJ Melendez, Drew Waters, Dairon Blanco and possibly Tyler Gentry. Water's chances of claiming leftfield is unlikely due to his struggles at the plate the past few seasons. Both Waters and Velázquez poor spring could boot both of them from leftfield and possibly out of Kansas City. According to Farm to Fountains: "In 2023, Velazquez posted a 0.27 BB/K ratio, highlighted by a K% of 28.5%. In addition, he sported a contact rate of only 67.9% last season, and his contact ability PLV rolling chart also showed him to be a hitter who hovered near the bottom 10th percentile based on contact skills."
Finally, if Pratto can continue his success this spring and carry his dominance into the regular season, he could see regular playing time with the Royals this upcoming season and in the future.








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