Witt and Pratto are just the start. How the KC Royals’ old dogs developed new tricks
Bobby Witt Jr. and Nick Pratto are one step closer to Kansas City now. Put another way: They are just one step from Kansas City now. This isn’t the most interesting thing, but it is the thing Royals fans are most interested in, so let’s just put the question and answer here at the top.
When will they be in Kansas City, playing in the major leagues?
“There’s not a predetermined plan,” Royals assistant general manager of player personnel J.J. Picollo said. “It’s, ‘Let’s get them settled in Triple-A, see how they’re playing.’ If they’re playing well then, yeah, we’ve got a decision to make.”
That decision could come soon, perhaps when rosters expand in September. Or it could mean sometime in 2022. That’s what’s real. But let’s talk more about what’s interesting.
The progression of Witt Jr. and Pratto — and others in the Royals’ farm system — can be credited at least in part to a substantial overhaul in how the club raises its prospects. It’s also shaping the Royals’ long-term plan.
The core of the Royals’ front office has been together longer than most marriages — Dayton Moore and assistant general managers Picollo, Rene Francisco and Scott Sharp all arrived in 2006.
But, somewhat quietly, the old friends completely rethought both how and what they taught in the minor leagues. Some of this was about the constant self-evaluation that lots of businesses and team front offices do, and some of it was a pretty bad 2019 by many prospects (including Pratto).
“It was identifying where we thought we were not only as a team, but where we were with the industry and what we thought we were valuing,” Picollo said. “And then it was identifying the people that not only had the knowledge but had really good communication skills.”
That included different roles for Alec Zumwalt (now director of hitting performance/player development), Drew Saylor (hitting coordinator), Keoni DeRenne (assistant hitting coordinator), Mike Tosar (special assignment) for hitters, and Paul Gibson (director of pitching performance), Jason Simontacchi (pitching coordinator), Mitch Stetter (manager for pitching performance) and Jeff Suppan (pitching rover) for pitchers.
Part of the idea was to be more intentional about strikeout rates and power numbers. Part of it was to structure the coaching staff to provide a personality and specialty for every player.
Zumwalt is a communicator and Saylor is on data and body movements, for instance.
“What we have is guys who can connect with any type of player,” Picollo said. “Whether it’s a Latin American player, American player, a guy who’s really into data, or a guy who’s more of a field guy … we’re equipped to handle whatever player it is.”
The players are the ones who do it, and none of this works without talent, but the results are (so far) compelling.
Compared with 2019, the Royals have baseball’s highest increase in slugging, among the highest increases in walks, and are the only organization to lower its strikeout rate. KC’s pitchers have one of the biggest gains in strikeout rate.
Pratto is the face of the change. The former first-round pick hit .191/.278/.310 at High-A Wilmington in 2019, and improved to .271/.404/.570 while increasing his walks and cutting his strikeouts at Class AA Northwest Arkansas before his promotion.
M.J. Melendez has a similar story: the catcher went from .163/.260/.311 at Wilmington in 2019 to .275/.362/.575 with better walk and strikeout rates so far at Northwest Arkansas.
Some (hopefully) unnecessary disclaimers — we’re about halfway through the season, and none of these prospects have succeeded in the big leagues. The burden of proof remains with the Royals.
But the process and results are encouraging enough to help shape the Royals’ long-term planning.
The Royals raised eyebrows throughout the industry when they passed on higher regarded prospects and selected high school left-handed pitcher Frank Mozzicato seventh overall in this month’s draft.
The surprise only grew when the same scouting department that somewhat famously went all-in with college pitchers 2018 used four of the top five picks on high school players.
Here’s the strategy: Without feeling great about the value of the prospects available, spending less on the first pick allowed the Royals to spend more on later picks and stay within MLB’s allotment. And with so many of the team’s best prospects approaching the big leagues, the goal is to start on the next wave.
Those high school prospects will soon pair with guys having big seasons in the lower levels of the minors who have been overshadowed by Witt Jr. and others — including High-A hitters Mike Massey (.293/.352/.547), Vinnie Pasquantino (13 homers, 33 walks and 38 strikeouts) and Jake Means (.265/.379/.561).
“That’s got to be our core going forward,” Picollo said of Witt Jr., Pratto, Melendez and those who’ve debuted in the last two seasons. “So, they start coming in, they break into the major leagues at the same time, and you’re going to lose a lot of guys at the same time. So having guys behind them to replace them is going to be really important when you talk about sustaining success.”
This is the Royals’ way now: a rebuilt farm system providing prospects deliberately spaced out in an effort to avoid the valleys of the last few years while chasing the peaks of 2014 and 2015.
They are a long way from claiming success. But so far the results are encouraging. We just saw two important steps this week. More need to come.