Forgotten Royals 1st-Round Pick Details Long-Shot Bid For Opening Day Roster Spot
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The Kansas City Royals have their everyday first baseman locked in for the 2025 season, but it's not the same name they thought they'd be writing into the lineup card as of a few years ago.
Vinnie Pasquantino, who has impressed throughout his time as a big-leaguer, is hoping to take the leap to All-Star candidacy in 2025. The Royals' former top first base prospect is just hoping to make the roster.
26-year-old Nick Pratto, who was the Royals' first-round pick in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, has struggled during limited playing time at the big-league level. That allowed Pasquantino, an 11th-round pick in 2019, to usurp him on the organizational depth chart.
Spring training could be Pratto's last shot to carve out a role for himself in the Royals organization. He is out of options, so if he doesn't make the big-league team, the Royals won't be able to send him back to Triple-A to begin the season without opening him up to a waiver claim.
With the odds stacked against him, Pratto detailed his offseason focus during an interview with MLB.com's Anne Rogers that was published on Thursday. Rogers reported that Pratto sought help from Driveline Baseball this winter to improve his pull-side power.
“Just selling out to that process,” Pratto said. “I want to make my bullets count. I think that’s what I did a good job of back in 2021. My batted-ball quality was much better. I was impacting the baseball to pull-side. I was able to corner pitchers to give me something to hit and handle.”
Carrying two first basemen isn't very common unless one is going to be the regular designated hitter, and Pratto wouldn't appear to have much of an advantage in that competition, either. He's 1-for-8 so far in spring training, and he'll likely have to get hot soon to have any shot at the roster.
Pratto has also been working out as a corner outfielder this spring in an attempt to give him one more lane at a potential roster spot.
One doesn't get to be a first-round pick without immense potential, and to some degree, Pratto still carries that potential. But he's got to prove he can unlock it this year, and he's already running behind.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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