Padres Sign Former 1st-Round Pick First Baseman
The San Diego Padres signed the first baseman to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A El Paso.
The Texas Rangers released Pratto earlier this week.
The Career That Brought Him Here
Pratto was the 14th overall pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 2017 draft out of Huntington Beach, California, a left-handed first baseman who generated a lot of excitement in 2021 when he hit 36 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A with 98 RBIs.
He made his MLB debut in 2022, appeared in 113 games across three Royals seasons, and posted a career big league slash of .216 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs before Kansas City removed him from the 40-man roster ahead of the 2025 season.
Padres signed former first-round pick Nick Pratto, apparently. https://t.co/hQsgGI7sTL
— Kevin Charity (@madfriarskevin) June 10, 2026
He spent 2025 entirely in Triple-A Omaha, hit .196 with nine home runs across 114 games, elected free agency in November, and signed with the Rangers in January.
In 26 games at Round Rock this season, he slashed .237/.287/.473 with five home runs but struck out 33 times against only six walks, the persistent swing-and-miss issue that has followed him throughout his career.
Why the Padres Called
The Padres have been calling up Triple-A contributors at a rapid pace recently, with Jase Bowen, Samad Taylor, and Will Wagner all promoted in recent weeks, thinning the El Paso depth chart in the process.
Pratto restores that depth immediately and gives the Padres a left-handed power option at Triple-A that fits the profile of a player AJ Preller has historically been willing to take a low-cost swing on.
From the third base dugout one night...to the first base side the next.
— Noah Gross (@noah_gross27) June 10, 2026
Nick Pratto goes from the Round Rock Express to their opponent this week.
More on his interesting couple days tonight on KXAN⤵️ pic.twitter.com/wqzplvkbhY
San Diego lacks power in the majors, and Pratto's 36-home-run minor league season remains the calling card that keeps organizations willing to find out if the gap between his Triple-A ceiling and his big league floor can be closed.
Photo Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
