Kansas City Royals top 10 prospects for 2019

5. Nick Pratto, 1B

Birthday: 10/6/1998 (20)
Acquired: Draft, 1st round, 2017
Level(s): low-A Lexington
Statistics: .280/.343/.443, 127 G, 537 PA, 33 2B, 14 HR, 22 SB, 8.4%, 27.9% K

Considered by many the best pure hitter in the 2017 high school draft class, Nick Pratto being picked by the Kansas City Royals in the first round last summer left many thinking back to similar things being said about Eric Hosmer as he was drafted. Pratto was an elite two-way athlete, with some teams liking his projection as a mid-rotation arm off the mound.

After a .247/.330/.414 showing in his pro debut in the Arizona Rookie League, many expected more from Pratto in his first full season with Lexington. While he was a teen the entire season, Pratto did show incredible growth.

From August 1st through the end of the season, Pratto hit .367/.430/.633 with 10 doubles, 6 home runs, and he stole 6 bases. He then followed that with an impressive .333/.481/.667 showing in the playoffs for Lexington over 6 games, with a pair of home runs and 3 more steals.

Pratto’s athleticism is one of the things that has many projecting him as an elite defender, but his above-average arm could all a move to an outfield corner as well down the road. While Pratto’s high baseball IQ accounts for much of his stolen base acumen, he is an average to above-average runner underway, and if his instincts translated to the outfield along with his arm, he could give the Kansas City Royals options with his future.