Summary
The Storm Chasers improved in many ways compared to two weeks ago but couldn’t close out games to secure a winning week. Their last winning week was June 11th-16th. The bullpen has blown 7 saves in the past 30 days, tied for 2nd most in the International League in that span. There is no one pitcher to blame, as six different Storm Chasers have contributed to the blown saves. Despite the lackluster performance, the offense showed some signs of life last week, finishing 10th in batting average, t-1st in home runs and 2nd in slugging percentage in the league. The pitchers finished with a 4.41 ERA last week and were good for 2nd in WHIP, holding a 3.61 K/BB in the process. Those are really solid numbers for a team that has struggled to strike out batters at an above-average rate and holds a 2.20 K/BB on the season. The struggles this week mainly came down to timely hitting, as the team went 3-35 with RISP in their four losses.
Will the real Nick Pratto please stand up?
Nick Pratto has been an enigma for much of the past three seasons. He shows glimpses of why he was once a top 100 prospect in the MLB with his impressive power and patient approach at the plate. Conversely, he will also have stretches of immense struggles at the plate, striking out over 30% of the time in the process. We have seen some of the same in 2024, albeit a more consistent version overall. Here are his splits for each month of the season thus far:
March: 3 G, .417/.500/.583, 1.083 OPS
April: 18 G, .179/.300/.313, .613 OPS
May: 25 G, .253/.330/.444, .774 OPS
June: 20 G, .267/.309/.453, .762 OPS
July: 5 G, .368/.435/1.000, 1.435 OPS
He has been relatively consistent since the beginning of May and is now sitting at a 100 wRC+ with a 28.4 K% and 11.0 BB% for the season. He went on a tear this past week (see Hitter of the Week below) and Royals fans are again asking the question of whether it’s worth giving him another opportunity in Kansas City this season. Although he spends most of his time at first base, he has spent 78 innings in left field in 2024, and a corner outfield spot is probably where he slots in best in the current Royals’ roster construction. A fully locked-in Nick Pratto could do wonders for the Royals’ lineup.
Hitter of the Week
Nick Pratto – 7 for 19, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 8 K
Season Stats: .254/.332/.460, .792 OPS
Runner-up: Nelson Velázquez: 6 for 13, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Pitcher of the Week
Austin Cox: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Season Stats: 4.03 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, .270 OBA, 1.71 K/BB
Runner-up: Andrew Hoffmann – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Next up
July 9th-14th vs. Toledo Mud Hens
Image credit: Nishant Brahme/Omaha Storm Chasers
