Royals' prospects Nick Pratto, Bobby Witt Jr. named to SiriusXM All-Star Futures roster
KANSAS CITY, MO. (June 30, 2021) – Kansas City Royals prospects Nick Pratto and Bobby Witt Jr. have been named to the American League roster for the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game Major League Baseball announced today. The exhibition will be played on Sunday, July 11 at Coors Field as part of All-Star Sunday. The contest is scheduled for seven innings, beginning at 2 p.m. CT (1 p.m. MT), and will be televised exclusively on MLB Network and simulcast on MLB.com.
Pratto, 22, was Kansas City’s first-round selection (14th overall) in 2017 out of Huntington Beach (Calif.) High School. The left-handed hitting first baseman has spent the minor league season with Northwest Arkansas and is tied for the Double-A Central lead with 13 home runs and leads the league in walks (32), extra-base hits (25) and OPS (1.011). He’s slashing .280/.407/.604 (46-for-164) with 10 doubles, two triples and 34 RBI, which rank third in the league. He’s also played error-free in the field, with his 332 putouts ranking first among all Double-A first basemen.
Witt Jr., 21, was Kansas City’s first-round pick (2nd overall) in 2019 out of Colleyville Heritage High School (Texas). The shortstop has also spent the year with Northwest Arkansas and is fifth among Double-A Central players with 12 home runs and ranks second in total bases (102) and RBI (35), third in extra-base hits (22) and fourth in runs scored (31). The right-handed hitter is batting .286 (50-for-179) with seven doubles and three triples while making 37 starts at shortstop in his first full professional season.
This will be the 22nd SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which began operating under the NL-AL format in 2019 after previously featuring a U.S.-vs.-World system. Major League Baseball, in conjunction with MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and the 30 Major League Clubs, selected the 25 players on each team. Each Major League organization is represented and players from all player development leagues were eligible to be selected.