MLB Draft 2017: Royals select Nick Pratto with 14th overall pick

With the 14th overall pick in the draft, the Royals have selected first baseman Nick Pratto from Huntington Beach high school. In mock drafts, Pratto was projected to go 24th by ESPN, 16th by MLB.com, and 12th by Baseball America.

Pratto, a lefty, has impressive bat speed for an 18-year old. His strength is well matched with his ability to judge pitches in the box. His fielding instincts on defense reflect how raw his baseball IQ is and the potential he has after major league conditioning. But he isn’t only limited to first base. Pratto has clocked up to 90mph on the mound, but to an organization like the Yankees, he has much more value as an All-Star hitting corner infielder.

The biggest concern with Pratto is that his power is a patchy or short lived phenomena that’ll fizzle out when he makes it to the show. There’s no question that he has room for development, but the grim outlook is that this is Pratto’s peak.

Check out the young first baseman’s qualifications here:

For more on Pratto, heck out Chris Cotillo’s Q&A with him here.