AKS
Nick Pratto, IF
Edit player ✎
Baseball Reference →
FanGraphs →
MLB →
Scouting report
There were pro scouts who didn't even consider Pratto a prospect after they watched him hit .190 and strike out 35% of the time in Wilmington in 2019. First basemen, even ones with a bevy of secondary skills like Pratto, don't have the luxury of whiffing that often and still becoming big leaguers because the offensive bar at the position is too high. But Pratto has now altered his swing (his stance is open and he has a leg kick now, most notably) and had a huge spring, punishing fastballs at the top of the zone with power. Pratto is geared for this kind of contact now, as he collapses his back side to create lift and just swings as hard as he can at fastballs in this area. He's always had a good feel for the zone and his ability to pick out pitches he can drive is quite good, so I like his chances of continuing to tattoo fastballs at the top of the zone, but I also think Pratto is still really vulnerable to back foot breaking stuff and fastballs running away from him with this swing. I've moved him into the 40+ tier because there's a pretty significant mechanical change that has coincided with a short-term leap in unofficial performance. Maybe Pratto just needs time to gain feel for moving the barrel around the zone with this new swing, but I still think he is more likely to wind up in a platoon first base/power bench bat role. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)