Vinnie Pasquantino has been tearing it up at the Kansas City Royals' Tripe-A affiliate and deserves to bring those talents to Kauffman Stadium as soon as possible.
Unsurprisingly, the Royals are off to a slow start this season. They're 10-18 to begin their 2022 campaign, and the only thing blocking them from being in last place in the American League Central is the Detroit Tigers — one of the worst teams in baseball.
Do you know who has not gotten off to a slow start this season? The organization’s fifth-ranked prospect, Vinnie Pasquantino. The 24-year-old got a cup of coffee with the big league talent during spring training — and did well — but was relegated to Tripe-A’s Omaha Storm Chasers and has been the biggest bopper in the team’s lineup.
After 31 games this season, the first baseman is leading the team in home runs (7), runs-batted-in (23), runs (22) and walks (20). He is also second in on-base percentage (.374), slugging (.523), on-base plus slugging (.897), hits and doubles. And the player in front of him for many of those categories, Emmanuel Rivera, has half as many plate appearances after being called up in April. Suffice to say, Pasquantino is crushing Triple-A pitching in his first season at the level.
Vinnie Pasquantino is beating up Triple-A pitching in 2022
What also makes the performance of the man known as “Italian Breakfast” impressive is his growth. Not only is he hitting the ball all over the park, but his walk rate has increased, and his strikeouts have gone down in Triple-A compared to his numbers at the lower levels.
- Vinnie Pasquantino MiLB stats (2022): 7 HRs, 23 RBI, 22 Rs, .386 OBP, .544 SLG, .930 OPS
Beyond his impressive stats, the Kansas City Royals need the bat at either first base or at the designated hitter spot. Currently, the team has 36-year-old Carlos Santana manning first, and he was off to a horrid start before he went to the 10-day injured list recently. While Pasquantino won’t get comparisons to the best defensive first baseman in the league, he still projects to be a player who can man the position competently at the major league level.
Royals fans deserve some hope beyond just Andrew Benintendi and Bobby Witt Jr. Pasquantino can offer up a bit more of that right now while actually contributing to an offense that ranks in the bottom four of the league. The Kansas City Royals need to stop waiting and promote Pasquantino now.
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