Royals Forgotten First-Round Pick Named Surprise Offseason Trade Candidate
The Kansas City Royals have become one of the more promising teams in the American League, but there have certainly been bumps along the way.
Before the Royals made the playoffs in 2024, there was a nine-year gap in postseason appearances. That gap not only included three last-place finishes in the AL Central, but a string of failed moves in pursuit of a rebuild.
The Royals had plenty of high draft picks in those nine years, but many flat-out failed to pan out. That includes their 2017 first-round pick, who has still yet to establish himself as a full-time big-leaguer.
First baseman Nick Pratto, a 26-year-old left-handed hitter who the Royals once had high hopes for, has played in parts of just two seasons in Kansas City thus far. The 14th overall pick in the 2017 draft failed to crack the big-league roster this past season.
Now that he is entrenched behind Vinnie Pasquantino on the first-base depth chart, Pratto could find himself on the move. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently named Pratto as the Royals' top candidate to get traded this offseason.
"There's not a ton of players general manager J.J. Picollo would probably be interested in moving, though with the emergence of Vinnie Pasquantino, Pratto could be a change-of-scenery candidate," Miller said.
"The former first-round pick only appeared in one Major League game this past season and has a -0.9 WAR over 145 career games for the Royals. The Royals wouldn't get much of anything for the 26-year-old, but it's not like they have with him in Kansas City, either."
Pratto may still be best known for hitting a walk-off single to win the 2011 Little League World Series, but he's had some high points as a professional as well, including a walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox in 2022. However, there's really no clear path to playing time for him in Kansas City.
Due to Pasquantino's presence and the Royals' playoff push, Pratto never made it back to the big leagues in 2024. He slashed .242/.324/.410 with 16 home runs in 115 games at Triple-A Omaha.
It's always tough to admit defeat on a former first-round pick, but getting anything in return for Pratto would be a win for the Royals at this point. Perhaps he could be a decent throw-in piece in a trade for the outfield bat Kansas City desperately needs to contend.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org