KC Royals: These 3 top Royal prospects are on fire

Northwest Arkansas, the KC Royals’ Double-A farm club, resumes play tonight against San Antonio after Monday’s scheduled off day. Hopefully, the short time away from the game didn’t cool off three hot Kansas City prospects.

The trio—first baseman Nick Pratto, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and catcher MJ Melendez—were at the center of the home run barrage the Naturals put on last Friday night against Springfield. Pratto slugged three homers, Witt and Melendez had one apiece, and Brewer Hicklen added another to power Northwest Arkansas’ thorough 15-5 thrashing of the Cardinals.

As it turns out, Friday was just another link in a hot chain of games for Pratto, Witt and Melendez, all of whom MLB Pipeline ranks in the top 15 of its Top 30 Royals’ prospects. Witt, of course, is the No. 1 organization prospect; Pratto is No. 9, Melendez is No. 14

Now, after terribly slow starts, each are on fire in their last five games.

Catcher MJ Melendez leads the three KC Royals prospects’ recent charge.

With a .473 average in his last five contests, a torrid clip that shot his young season average up 133 points (.138 to .271), Melendez is the hottest of the three. His performance over that span includes a three-hit game and a pair of two-hit appearances. He had a double (his only one of the season so far), eight of his 15 RBIs, and three home runs that put him on pace to restore the organization’s faith in his power.

Only a call-up to Kansas City would likely excite Melendez more than a promotion to Triple-A Omaha. But he may have to bide his time to join even the Storm Chasers—Meibrys Viloria is doing most of the backstop work in Omaha and is slashing .351/.455/.541 with a pair of homers and seven RBIs in 11 games, and Sebastian Rivero, who’s spent some time with the big club this season, is 5-for-12.

How about Pratto and Witt?

First baseman Nick Pratto is working on becoming a KC Royals’ favorite again.

Remember when Kansas City drafted Nick Pratto in the first round of the 2017 amateur draft? Remember when MLB Pipeline rated him as the organizations’ top prospect that year? Remember when, just a year later, he hit 14 homers, drove in 62 runs, and posted a .280/.343/.443 line in 127 games at Class A Lexington?

And remember the disaster that followed, the 2019 season at High-A Wilmington when he nosedived to .191 with a .278 OBP, and managed just nine home runs and 46 RBIs in 124 games? The poor performance allowed Travis Jones to close the gap on Pratto in the intra-organizational race to fill the first base hole in Kansas City Eric Hosmer’s departure created.

Fortunately for the KC Royals, Carlos Santana now occupies first base. But because 2022, the final season of his two-year contract, will be his age-36 campaign, the club must still be concerned about the position.

Pratto did much this spring to establish himself as the favorite to succeed Santana if he leaves. He slashed .345/.406/.862 with three doubles and four homers in 29 at-bats. Because there was no room for him in Kansas City, and he needs to face live-game pitching every day, the Royals sent him to Northwest Arkansas to start this season.

And his start was bad. Pratto was hitting .138 before the first of his last five games began.

Now, though, he’s come alive; he’s not as hot as Melendez, but he’s getting close. The first baseman hit .411 in his last five games, a binge that raised his average 55 points from .231 to .286, and includes those three home runs he smashed against Springfield and the one he added for good measure Saturday. And he’s knocked in eight runs during the five-game run.

It looks like he’s back on track.