St. Paul – Anthony Prato is a pretty even-keeled guy. He grew up in Brooklyn and is a patient fan of the New York Giants and Knicks, and plays baseball with a pretty mellow energy on and off the field.
So, how has he become the man to set a new franchise record in hit by pitches, 15, for the St. Paul Saints well before the All-Star Break? It’s not for having a bad reputation across the league.
“I know if I had a personal scouting report, say the pitch I struggle with the most [is inside], and I’m sure teams know that, too,” said Prato. “[They don’t] mean to hit me.”
Prato has played seven years in the majors, and he’s always struggled to make contact with pitches inside. As a result, opposing pitchers have hit him with more pitches than they have his teammates. He was third on the Saints last year with nine and had his previous career high of 13 between Low-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita in 2022.
Prato changed his batting stance in the offseason, which may explain the sudden increase in hit-by-pitches. Changing his batting stance came up in discussions with the Saints’ hitting coach Shawn Schlechter in the middle of last season. Prato waited until the off-season to start tinkering with how he’d change his stance, and opted for opening up much more around the plate, rather than crowding as he’d for several years.
“Over the off-season, he wanted to try and open up with his ability to deliver the barrel and actually have space to get to his pull side,” said Schlechter. “He’s also noted that it’s helped him see the baseball a bit better. Feels like his move is a little bit simpler, so that’s been the main reason why he’s developed the new stance, kind of a mindset to drive the ball a little bit better.”
Prato has shown flashes of power at the plate before. He hit 10 homers in 2022 and 12 in 2023, 10 of which came during his breakout run with the Saints after hitting just .171 in 43 games with Wichita. His power disappeared in 2024, when he had only three home runs all season. It’s come back slightly this season with four already on the board, and the change in his stance has helped him to pull the ball better for more power.
“Just being able to lift the ball up toward left-center field,” said Prato. “I think last year I was probably heavy right, right center field, just being able to get the hit out, pulling the ball has been more of the difference.”
“I think the direction in which he does it is a little bit different,” Schlechter said. “I think he’s a little bit more aligned to center field, versus last year, he was a little bit more aligned to right, center field, or right field. So, I think mainly a lot of the techniques and patterns that he’s had in the past are the same. I think he’s just changing his line.”
While the stance is more open to get those power-hitting swings, Prato is still coming into his swing similarly to when he was crouching over the plate. How he’s leaning into his swing seems to be the biggest indicator as to why he continues to get plunked anytime he’s pitched inside.
“If you were to look at where he does the most damage and where he covers the strike zone, it would be the area where the pitchers would try and take advantage of,” said Schlechter. “Within doing that has probably caused a little bit more wild and bigger misses to that side, which has led to a few more free bases for him.”
The free bases haven’t been hard for Prato to come by over his career. He’s never had a season with his on-base percentage lower than .370 in seven minor league seasons, the lowest being .370 last season. The 15 hit by pitches have helped maintain his OBP at .410 this year, and boost his OPS over .800.
“It’s good to get on base,” said Prato, “but it kind of hurts.”
As for his usage in the field, Prato is truly the definition of the Saints’ Swiss Army Knife, filling in at any position they ask him to play. He’s gotten accustomed to center field this year, playing in 15 games out there and counting. The only position he hasn’t played in his pro career is catcher. If he could, he’d try to get in for an inning just to say he’s played all nine.
But convincing Saints manager Toby Gardenhire to let him play behind the dish for an inning might not be so easy.
“I don’t think so,” Prato said of whether Gardenhire would sign off letting him play catcher for an inning. “That would be fun, though.”