The Curious Case of Nick Pratto
Nick Pratto struggled in 2023 for the Kansas City Royals. What can he do to get back on track?
The Kansas City Royals don’t mind taking risks in the MLB Draft. They took Blake Mitchell in 2023 despite the perceived risk of drafting a high school catcher in the first round. And way back in 2017 they took a chance on another risky profile, a high school first baseman, to acquire Nick Pratto.
It’s too early to know what Mitchell could be, but so far, the risk of drafting Pratto hasn’t paid off. In 144 MLB games and 527 PAs, Pratto has a .216/.295/.364 slash line with a 80 wRC+. That means he’s been 20% below league average offensively … as a first baseman.
Many have pointed to Pratto’s issues with strikeouts, and those certainly are debilitating at this point. But there’s a lot more to understanding why Pratto has struggled to produce offensively.
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