It’s time for Jac.
Vahe Gregorian writes about the decision to call up Jac Caglianone.
While he certainly seems to have demonstrated that he’s beyond Triple-A, that’s not the same as being ready for this.
No matter how hard the Royals will try to cushion and support him, he’ll surely be the story for weeks to come among fans and media. And while the clubhouse no doubt will be receptive to him, that also will be a room he has to win over as The Great Hope.
The reassuring news in all this is that Caglianone is remarkably grounded and winsome. He oozes sincerity and respect for the game, thrives on challenges and is driven to improve.
Sam McDowell writes about what Caglianone will have to avoid in the big leagues.
Caglianone swung at 24 pitches out of the zone in Triple-A in his first 11 games. The data for the 12th and now-final game has not yet been included. Nine of those 24 pitches concluded an at-bat (put in play or a strikeout). He had one hit, a single, in those nine at-bats.
On pitches in the zone, by contrast, Caglianone just hammered the ball, to the tune of a .394 average and .970 slugging percentage. That circumstantial slugging percentage — in-zone swings — ranks fourth-best in Triple-A for hitters with at least 30 plate appearances this year.
When it’s there, he rarely misses it.
Sam Dykstra at MLB.com writes about Caglianone’s game.
Caglianone ran a 44 percent chase rate as a sophomore in Gainesville, lowered that to 39 percent as a junior and dropped it again to 35 percent between the Texas and Pacific Coast Leagues this spring, all per Synergy. That’s trending in the right direction, but considering the MLB average chase rate in 2025 is 27.9 percent, that’s still rough before Caglianone even swings a bat in The Show. Major Leaguers should be expected to pitch outside the zone and test the new Royals slugger’s willingness to expand it against the best-quality pitching he’s seen. He’s also shown high whiff rates against changeups (51 percent) and curveballs (50 percent), and pitchers with decent offerings of either type could feed him a steady diet of both.
David Lesky writes about that chase rate.
Yes, he will chase. He chased 35.9 percent of the time in AAA. That’s high and he will be exploited on that in some ways in the big leagues. But that number is down from last season at Florida and in the lower levels, so there are signs that he’s putting in the work to improve. Only time will tell if he will improve on it, but the trend is good. And the other side of that is I’m told consistently that his chase issues aren’t as big of a deal as they’d be for other hitters because he has some of the best plate coverage they’ve ever seen and he can still hit balls hard.
Craig Brown is on the hype train.
I hate to drive the hype train when it comes to prospects, but Cags coming to Kansas City is an event on par with the debuts of Bo Jackson, Alex Gordon and Bobby Witt Jr. That’s some enormous pressure to place on a guy with zero major league plate appearances, but this is the situations the Royals currently occupy. Had they run out a league-average offense to this point, they would probably be letting him continue to take his rips in Triple-A. Yet there is a tremendous need in Kansas City so he’s coming now.
There will be adjustments that will need to be made. He will struggle at times. Success is never guaranteed.
Jaylon Thompson writes about what’s next for Caglianone.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter writes that Caglianone doesn’t need to be a savior.
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