Pratto's 'brand of baseball' resulting in red-hot spring

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Another day, another hit for Nick Pratto.

With an RBI single in the first inning of the Royals’ eventual 12-9 loss to the Giants at Surprise Stadium on Monday, Pratto now has a 1.164 OPS this spring. In nine Cactus League games, he’s gone 10-for-25 with two homers and just four strikeouts.

And he keeps inserting himself in the conversation for a roster spot when the Royals break camp.

“I just want to play my brand of baseball,” Pratto said. “Obviously, I want to make the team and help them out, but step one is putting myself to compete throughout the year. I know that if I do that, stuff’s going to translate. It doesn’t matter where I am.”

Pratto entered camp in competition for a bench spot, but it seemed like he was on the outside looking in because of Vinnie Pasquantino’s return at first base and an influx of depth in the outfield, where Pratto has just begun to get reps the last couple of years. Pratto hasn’t gotten any work in the outfield this spring, only playing first and serving as the designated hitter.

But his ability to handle the corner outfield when needed could help his case. Performance isn’t everything in Spring Training, but Pratto looks and feels more comfortable after a disappointing 2023 season that saw him hit .232/.307/.353 with a 40% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate. His 22% called strike rate was the 10th-highest mark among 293 players with at least 300 plate appearances.

Some of his struggles may have had to do with his hip and groin injury that had persisted since 2022 and caused him to miss time last year. Pratto was limited in his movement at the plate, which seeped into the results.

“Striking out as much as I did last year, that shouldn’t happen,” Pratto said. “I was in a position where I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to shrink the zone because I can only handle certain things.’ I was hitting without a backside, which is tough. I did what I could with it.”

After an offseason of work, he’s healthy now, and feels “back to being me,” he said. That’s freed up his mind, too, allowing him to have a lot more fun when he’s on the field.

And he’s made a lasting impression.

“He’s had a really good approach,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Mentally he’s been in a good spot. … He’s put his best foot forward. We still have a few weeks left, and we’ll be able to make a decision soon. But he’s done everything he could do.”

Zerpa’s misses hit hard
Angel Zerpa had a hard time commanding his fastball Monday, when he allowed four earned runs on four hits with two walks in 2 2/3 innings, and he didn’t get the swing and miss he showed in his last outing. Getting both back will be key to making the team. More than anything else, Zerpa is working on his secondary pitches and hoping to increase his whiff rate.

“We’re definitely working on that more this Spring Training,” Zerpa said through interpreter Luis Perez. “It’s a lot [about] the grip, but you can’t get too fine with it because that’s when you lose it and leave pitches over the middle.”

The two home runs Zerpa allowed Monday came on a fastball and slider that leaked over the plate. But he was also getting behind in counts early in at-bats.

Zerpa is being built up as a starter this spring but would likely work in long relief with the Royals if he breaks camp with them. In parts of three big league seasons, he’s shown versatility, pitching in a variety of roles, and durability, being able to recover quickly from longer outings. That could help the Royals in the first part of the year with 19 games in the first 21 days of the season.

Hall of Famers in camp
Royals Hall of Famers were in Surprise on Monday, with Dennis Leonard, Steve Busby and Willie Wilson among the group introduced by George Brett in the Royals’ morning meeting.

Plenty of stories were shared about the great teams of the 1970s and ‘80s, and current players were listening with rapt attention.

“Any time George has a microphone, it’s going to be entertaining,” Quatraro said. “It’s just a really cool week, especially if you’re a fan of the game and history of the game. To know that those guys are here, how much they care for the organization and that they want to come back, it’s the right thing to do to recognize them.”