Royals sign 1st-round pick Nick Pratto to $3.45M deal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Royals and first-round pick Nick Pratto agreed Monday to a contract that includes a $3.45 million signing bonus, and the high school first baseman will head to Arizona to begin his professional career.

Pratto was chosen with the 14th overall pick out of Huntington Beach, California, and flew to Kansas City with his family to make his deal official. He signed it before the Royals opened a series against the Red Sox and then toured Kauffman Stadium, where he hopes to play in the future.

Pratto will head to the Arizona rookie league Tuesday morning.

Slipping on his new Royals jersey brought back some found memories for Pratto, whose Little League team had the same nickname. Pratto later led a collection of California players to the Little League World Series in 2011, hitting the game-winning single in the title game against Japan.