Nick Pratto

Nick Pratto

24-Year-Old First Baseman1B
Kansas City Royals
2023 Fantasy Outlook
As expected, Pratto had trouble hitting consistently against major-league arms, batting .184 with a .657 OPS across 182 plate appearances with the Royals. He was in a unique situation, sharing first base and designated hitter with fellow prospect Vinnie Pasquantino. While that's an acceptable short-term arrangement that could exist for part or all of 2023, the Royals' position-player prospects could eventually create a logjam in the majors that necessitates a deal. Pratto added seven homers in his first taste of the majors last year, but a 36.3 percent strikeout rate and a 10.7 percent walk rate were not the right mix for a three-true-outcomes hitter. He also didn't attempt a steal in the majors last year -- he didn't get on base enough to make an impact there. There's room for the 24-year-old to grow if he can break camp with the Royals, but there are enough red flags in his profile to make him risky even in AL-only formats, though his plus power could quickly nullify those concerns. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#586
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Royals in March of 2023.
Out versus lefty
1BKansas City Royals
May 26, 2023
Pratto isn't in the Royals' lineup Friday against the Nationals.
ANALYSIS
The Nationals will begin Friday with lefty Patrick Corbin on the mound, so the left-handed Pratto will retreat to the bench. In his place, Edward Olivares will start in left field and bat sixth.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2023
2022
2023 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Loading Batting Game Log...
2022 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
1
1
6
11
1
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+6%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+14%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+1%
OPS vs LHP
2021
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021vs Left .734 65 10 1 10 0 .250 .323 .411
Since 2021vs Right .694 226 21 8 23 1 .209 .307 .388
2023vs Left .864 22 5 1 2 0 .300 .364 .500
2023vs Right .758 87 8 1 11 1 .270 .379 .378
2022vs Left .663 43 5 0 8 0 .222 .302 .361
2022vs Right .654 139 13 7 12 0 .172 .261 .393
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+5%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+21%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+21%
OPS at Home
2021
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021Home .719 160 24 5 23 0 .211 .321 .398
Since 2021Away .684 131 7 4 10 1 .227 .298 .387
2023Home .720 65 13 2 10 0 .218 .338 .382
2023Away .868 44 0 0 3 1 .359 .432 .436
2022Home .719 95 11 3 13 0 .205 .309 .410
2022Away .592 87 7 4 7 0 .163 .230 .363
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Nick Pratto compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.35
 
BB Rate
11.5%
 
K Rate
32.7%
 
BABIP
.444
 
ISO
.133
 
AVG
.289
 
OBP
.385
 
SLG
.422
 
OPS
.807
 
wOBA
.361
 
Exit Velocity
86.7 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
35.7%
 
Barrels/PA
3.7%
 
Expected BA
.254
 
Expected SLG
.407
 
Sprint Speed
24.1 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
42.9%
 
Line Drive %
32.1%
 
Fly Ball %
25.0%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nick Pratto See More
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Sunday, May 21
7 days ago
While Chris Morgan has featured a couple top pitchers, he's also endorsing some key hitters.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
14 days ago
Erik Siegrist looks over the AL free-agent pool as Nick Pratto makes some noise for the Royals.
MLB FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
17 days ago
Jason Shebilske points toward top FAAB targets, including Christopher Morel of the Cubs, in this weekly feature on hidden gems to pick up in fantasy leagues.
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Wednesday, May 10
18 days ago
Chris Morgan checks out Wednesday's evening slate as Pete Alonso and the Mets face the Reds in Cincinnati.
Lineup Lowdown: American League
19 days ago
Ryan Boyer runs through a deep look at American League batting orders in this week's Lineup Lowdown.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2019
2018
Pratto and teammate MJ Melendez having massive bounce-back campaigns after dreadful 2019 seasons was one of the better stories in the minors last year. Pratto hit .265/.385/.602 with 36 home runs, an excellent 39.5 Hard%, a 15.2 BB% and a 28.8 K% in 545 plate appearances at Double-A and Triple-A. Once seen as a potential hit-over-power prospect, Pratto has evolved into a three-true-outcomes masher. He was second in the minors in home runs and ISO (.337), so the power is very real, but his strikeout rate is pretty concerning for a player at age-appropriate levels, as the gap between Triple-A and MLB pitching is massive. Better in OBP leagues than batting average leagues, Pratto could be a sneaky source of 6-12 steals, thanks to strong instincts on the bases. He is a good defensive first baseman and will likely get a chance to play there regularly in the majors this summer. However, it seems likely that he will be a batting average sinkhole as a rookie.
It is tough to know how to react when a player is productive, but in a very different way than the pre-draft scouting report foretold. Take Pratto, the 14th overall pick in 2017. "Command of the strike zone" and "developing power" were the selling points for this hit-over-power prep first baseman. Instead, he had the 15th highest K% (27.9) in the Sally League while his power was ahead of schedule (.163 ISO). However, his 13.4% swinging-strike rate was only the 27th highest mark in the league, so he does not have debilitating contact issues, and really improved in the second half. From July 14 on, Pratto hit .343/.422/.596 with seven home runs, a 24.5 K% and an 11.5 BB% in 192 PA. Pratto uses the whole field (32.1 Oppo%) and his 22.9% line-drive rate ranked eighth in the league, so the ingredients are there for him to become the player we thought he would be, his development just won't be linear -- it rarely is.
The 2017 draft saw four first basemen go in the first round and Pratto was the only high schooler to break up the college bats. Typically prep hitters are slower to tap into their raw power. However, those three college first basemen combined for seven total home runs after signing, while Pratto hit four out himself. He also tied for fourth in the AZL with 15 doubles -- an indicator that even more over-the-fence power is coming. Pratto was the only corner infielder in the AZL to steal double-digit bases, which says more about his instincts than raw speed, as he is actually a below-average runner. He didn't get the bat on the ball enough, striking out 25.2 percent of the time, but projects to make massive strides in that department in the coming years. He showed patience (10.4 percent walk rate) and more power than most were expecting in his first pro season. One thing to watch going forward is his performance against lefties, whom he hit .234/.321/.319 against in a small sample.
More Fantasy News
Elevated to leadoff spot
1BKansas City Royals
May 22, 2023
Pratto is starting in left field and batting leadoff for the Royals on Monday against the Tigers.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Logs first career steal
1BKansas City Royals
May 17, 2023
Pratto went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Padres.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Day off Tuesday
1BKansas City Royals
May 16, 2023
Pratto isn't starting Tuesday against the Padres.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Racks up three RBI
1BKansas City Royals
May 11, 2023
Pratto went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, three RBI and a pair of runs scored in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the White Sox.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Bound for bench
1BKansas City Royals
May 6, 2023
Pratto will sit Saturday against the Athletics.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.