How Kansas City Royals youngster Nick Pratto is making most of his call-up to the bigs

Nick Pratto hasn’t been a part of the Royals very long, but he’s already making an impact.

Since being promoted to the major leagues before Friday’s game, Pratto’s been an injection of life for a struggling Royals offense.

The Royals rank 29th in MLB with 85 runs scored and are dead last in team batting average (.218). But Pratto went 3-for-5 on Friday and then continued his hot hitting Saturday: 2-for-3 with a walk in the Royals’ 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

The 24-year-old is excited to be back in the majors.

“It feels good,” Pratto said. “Obviously, it’s where you want to be. I’m just glad I’m here. I’m ready to contribute with these guys.”

Pratto was primarily brought up to add a spark to KC’s offense.

“I think be brings a lot to the table,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He sees the ball well. He’s going to provide some balance of guys that are more free swinging and he’s got a more of a patient approach.

“But within that, he’s not afraid to hit some pitches and he’s got power. He can use all of it and hopefully provide some run production.”

Pratto believes he can provide more than that.

“I feel like I can bring a lot to the table,” he said. “I bring a lot to the team. I feel like my defense speaks loudly. I think I can play the corner spots well.”

Pratto’s excellence in the field was on display Saturday. Though he’s primarily a first baseman, Pratto has played in the outfield, too.

“In spring training, he looked comfortable in the outfield,” Quatraro said. Today (Saturday), he made another nice play going toward right center, too. That one — sliding play against one of those lefties — (was) a really nice play.”

Ultimately, Pratto just wants to prove he belongs in the big leagues with the Royals. After being called up last season, Pratto had a .184 average for the year in 158 at-bats. He hadn’t been much better in Ohama this season, batting .159.

The sample size is small (15 at-bats), but he’s currently batting .400 for the 2023 season.

“I’m just trying to do my job every day and make sure I’m in a position to excel on the field,” Pratto said.