The Royals announced the signing of sixth overall pick Jac Caglianone. Caglianone receives a $7.5MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline (X link). The selection comes with a slot value of roughly $7.21MM.
Caglianone is a two-way player from the University of Florida. His higher upside professionally is as a position player. Caglianone topped 30 home runs in each of his final two seasons in Gainesville. He hit 35 longballs — second among Division I hitters behind #3 pick Charlie Condon’s 37 — with a .419/.544/.875 slash line as a junior. Caglianone walked at an 18.4% clip while striking out only 8.2% of the time. He has top-of-the-scale raw power that gives him the chance to hit in the middle of a lineup.
Nevertheless, pre-draft scouting reports raised some questions about his pure hitting ability. Baseball America and The Athletic’s Keith Law each pointed to concerns about Caglianone’s chase rate as well as a tendency to get pull-oriented in his swing. Caglianone is likely limited to first base defensively, so he’ll need to hit a lot to provide value.
He’s not as highly regarded as a pitching prospect. While he can run his fastball into the upper 90s, his subpar control points to a bullpen future. It seems likely the Royals will prioritize his offensive development in the hope that he moves quickly and establishes himself as a 30+ home run hitter.