Kansas City Royals prospects Nick Pratto and Michael Massey win MiLB Gold Gloves
The Kansas City Royals became one of two organizations to boast a pair of Rawlings Gold Glove winners in the minors this season with prospects Nick Pratto, a first baseman, and Michael Massey, a second baseman, named the top defensive players at their respective positions.
Minor League Baseball announced on Friday evening the nine winners chosen from across the 11 full-season leagues. The World Series champion Atlanta Braves were the only other organization with two winners.
Pratto, the No. 51 overall prospect in the minors according to Baseball America, played for both Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha this season.
A 23-year-old left-handed hitting former first-round draft pick (14th overall, 2017), Pratto registered 813 putouts and 64 assists in 879 total chances, and he committed just two errors in 955 2/3 innings at first base (113 total games). His .998 fielding percentage was the highest among the nine minor-league Gold Glove winners.
Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Pratto the “Best Defensive Infielder” in the Royals’ farm system. At season’s end, he’d been named the Best Defensive First Baseman in the Double-A Central league as well as a member of the MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America All-Prospect teams.
Massey, 23, spent this season at High-A Quad Cities. He became the first player in Quad Cities franchise history to win a Gold Glove.
Massey led all second basemen in the minors with a .989 fielding percentage in 81 games (78 starts) with 108 putouts, 173 assists and three errors in 284 total chances. He also turned 32 double plays, which tied for the league lead. A Postseason All-Star, he helped Quad Cities win the High-A Central league championship.
A former fourth-round draft pick (109th overall, 2019) out of Illinois, Massey ranks No. 28 out of the top 30 prospects in the Royals’ farm system according to MLBPipeline.com. He played in 42 games at the Rookie Level in 2019, and there were no minor-league games due to the pandemic in 2020.
