Nick Pratto Hits Three Home Runs For Northwest Arkansas Friday
The Kansas City Royals' No. 9 prospect Nick Pratto belted three home runs for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in a 15-5 victory over the Springfield Cardinals on Friday.
Pratto went 3-for-4, driving in five runs against the Cardinals. He hit a solo home run in the first inning, a three-run homer in the fourth and another solo shot in the ninth. Pratto's blast in the ninth followed Bobby Witt Jr.'s two-run home run.
The 22-year-old first baseman has started the Double-A season slow as he was hitting .200 on the young season before Friday's offensive outpouring. Pratto is slashing .260/.415/.640 on the year with a 1.055 on-base plus slugging percentage. With his three home runs on Friday, Pratto leads the team in that category with five on the year.
Pratto wasn't the only Royals prospect in Double-A to have a solid game. Witt went to 2-for-5 with his aforementioned two-run home run. Catcher MJ Melendez went 3-for-6 with a home run and two RBIs. Outfielder Brewer Hicklen had three RBIs on the day as well.
Before Friday's contest, Witt was hitting below .200 but his performance moved his slash line to .207/.303/.310. The home run was the No. 7 overall prospect's second with the Naturals.
In 12 games this season, Melendez has driven in 12 runs on 10 hits, good enough for the team lead.
Northwest Arkansas will have two more games in Springfield against the Cardinals before heading back to Springdale, Arkansas to host the San Antonio Missions May 25-30.
