First baseman Nick Pratto to represent Kansas City Royals in All-Star Futures Game

For the second year in a row, Kansas City Royals minor-league first baseman Nick Pratto has been selected to participate in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which features the top prospects in Minor League Baseball.

Pratto, the top-rated prospect currently in the Royals’ farm system according to Baseball America, was one of 50 players chosen by Major League Baseball, MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and the 30 MLB organizations. Each MLB club is represented in the selections.

The seven-inning game will take place at 6 p.m. Central Time on Saturday, July 16, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Pratto, the 14th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, had a breakout season in 2021 while splitting time between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. A left-handed hitter, Pratto hit 36 home runs in 2021, which matched Griffin Conine for the second most among all minor-league players behind Royals catcher MJ Melendez.

Pratto earned Double-A All-Star honors last season. He slashed .271/.404/.570 with 13 doubles, four triples, 15 homers and 43 RBI with Northwest Arkansas before being promoted to Omaha on July 20. At the time of his promotion, he led all Double-A players in OPS (.974).

In 124 games in the minors last season overall, Pratto ranked second in extra-base hits (71) and third in RBI (98), and was tied for third in runs scored (98) and fifth in walks (83) and total bases (268).

He also received the Minor League Rawlings Gold Glove as the top defender at first base across all levels of the minors.

This season, Pratto has slashed .232/.363/.464 with 15 home runs with 45 RBIs through his first 70 games. While he has predominantly played first base, he has also played in the outfield.