Why Royals infield prospect Nick Pratto feels close to solving his hitting woes

Nick Pratto will be the first to say that his third year of minor-league baseball hasn’t gone as planned.

The Royals’ first-round pick in 2017 out of California is hitting just .172 in High-A Wilmington in 75 games at first-base. Wilmington’s ballpark isn’t known for being hitter-friendly, but teammates such as outfielder Brewer Hicklen seem to have figured out ways to have some success in it.

“The biggest thing about this park, I wouldn’t even say it’s the dimensions, I would say it’s the infield grass and outfield grass,” Pratto said. “Because if you get a ball most places, it’s going to go. But (here) those hard-hit ground balls, once they hit the grass, they die.”

Pratto remains optimistic, though, that he’s close to turning a corner. In Single-A Lexington last season, the 6-foot-1 infielder hit just .238 in the first half of the season but .322 in the second.

Pratto said he can get frustrated during slumps and sometimes change his approach, which he knows isn’t good for his development. While winning is always the priority, Pratto said the second-half of his 2018 season is his model for regular production.

“That was the biggest duration when I was most consistent,” he said. “I just jumping on balls in my zone. I’ve had a little more trouble with that this year.”

The Royals’ front office isn’t concerned with anything in Pratto’s swing. Assistant general manager JJ Picollo said it’s more of a mental aspect with the team’s No. 5 prospect.

Picollo said that the message to Pratto is to be himself and not rush any at-bats. Picollo understands that a player’s struggles can snowball at the plate in Wilmington, and sometimes a player like Pratto needs to be reminded about why he’s in the minors to begin with.

“The swing we saw in high school, the swing we saw in Lexington, that’s what you have to get back to, and it’s working,” Picollo said of his message. “With Nick right now, the at-bats have been better over the last two to three weeks. He’s not swinging at as many bad pitches. Early on he was chasing a lot of high fastballs, he’s started to lower that. If he stays with that approach we think he’ll come around.”

On Matias ...

Picollo said the organization wondered how the Wilmington park’s relatively dismal power numbers would affect outfielder Seuley Matias. Matias hit 31 home runs in Single-A Lexington last season and club officials didn’t want him to change anything about his swing in Wilmington. Matias has been on the injured list since mid-June and has just four home runs this season.

“He was the guy we were most concerned with,” Picollo said. His identity is home runs. We knew there was going to be a challenge here. If he hit 15 here, that’s very good. ... You’re going to crush balls here that aren’t going to go out.”

On Starling ...

While acknowledging Bubba Starling has had an impressive season so far at Triple-A Omaha, Picollo said talk of his potential call-up is premature until there is an opportunity to get him into the KC lineup every day.

“It’s very natural for a player to think, ‘When’s it going to happen for me?’” Picollo said. “But the reality of getting that final call to the major leagues is you’ve got to be playing well and then there’s got to be an opportunity.”

Picollo said Starling is a unique defensive outfielder, given his ability to cover ground quickly in center field and time difficult catches.

“His reads, jumps, breaks, closing speed, he can get to a wall and get up a wall ... I’ve not seen anybody like him,” he said.

On Lee ...

Khalil Lee, the No. 3-ranked prospect in the Royals system, is batting .262 with six home runs and 34 stolen bases. Picollo said when the team drafted Lee, now 21, in the third round in 2016, the front office expected him to be an on-base threat.

“He started out really hot and then he went through a lull and now he’s back around .270,” Picollo said. “For a 20-year-old in that league, they’re pretty good numbers. I think he’s on pace to steal 50 bases. We knew he could steal bases, (but) I don’t think we were anticipating that kind of number.”

On Singer and Kowar

Picollo said the Royals’ top two pitching prospects, Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar, have had great seasons in the minors, especially given the fact that it’s their first full season in professional baseball. Teammates at Florida, Singer was promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas at the beginning of June and Kowar got the same call two weeks later.

Singer is 2-0 with a 6.35 earned-run average in five starts in Double-A, while Kowar is 0-1 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts.

“Brady is off to a great start,” Picollo said. “We’re really happy with what we saw (in Wilmington). In Double-A, seeing him go through a few adjustments there. Hitters lay off the slider more. You have to make better pitches with your fastball. That’s part of the stepped process you go through.

“The other thing you have to figure with these guys is you have to expect some level of failure. It’s a better league; can they handle it? Brady’s such a competitor we figured he can handle it. Jackson, it’s the same thing.”