Jac Caglianone (KCR): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Last year’s sixth overall pick hit .322 with 15 dingers and a 160 wRC+ across 50 games with Triple-A Omaha before getting the call. It took 13 games, but we finally saw his 80-grade power in action with the Royals, and it was worth the wait. Jac Caglianone’s first home run came in the second inning of yesterday’s 4-1 win over the Royals on a fastball about shoulder-high from lefty reliever Jacob Latz. The solo shot landed in the Rangers’ bullpen, 386 feet from the plate. The distance might not have stood out by itself, but his ability to barrel a ball that high illustrates his remarkable talent.
His second shot was even better, a 438-foot shot to right off another lefty reliever, Robert Garcia. This time, Cags dropped the bathead beautifully on a slider down and in. It was just two swings, but it illustrated why Caglianone was so highly regarded coming out of Florida last summer; his power is unreal. Granted, he’ll have to adjust through the trial by fire that rookies face, perhaps even more so in his case, having blitzed through the minors, but he’s the sort of talent fantasy managers dream of.
The Royals entered Thursday with 249 runs scored, the second-fewest in baseball. Opposing pitchers have rightfully pegged Bobby Witt Jr. as the persona non grata. Otherwise, their lineup seems devoid of threats, especially with Salvador Perez toting a career-low 83 wRC+. Their leadoff hitter, Jonathan India, is hitting .238 with 15 extra-base hits. Ok, fine, Maikel Garcia has been way better this season. How about a 143 wRC+? Nevertheless, if Caglianone does what he’s capable of doing, pitchers facing the Royals could find themselves humming a different tune while navigating their lineup.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday:
Paul Goldschmidt (NYY): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Goldy led off against lefty Tyler Anderson and drilled a double to left before scoring the Yankees’ first run on a groundout from Giancarlo Stanton. In his second at-bat, he went back-to-back with Trent Grisham, sending a heater up near the letters into the seats just behind the foul pole in left (369 feet, 109.9 EV). Goldy has pummeled lefties this year; he entered the game hitting .414 against them with a .233 wRC+ in 83 plate appearances. However, he’s had far less success against right-handers with an 83 wRC+, so there’s a chance he could cede some at-bats to Ben Rice with Giancarlo Stanton back as the full-time DH. Jasson Domínguez sat and could see his playing time squeezed too; he’s been far weaker as a right-handed hitter. We’ll get a better idea with the Orioles throwing three right-handers against the Yankees this weekend.
Byron Buxton (MIN): 3-6, 2B, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Buxton has been an absolute joy thus far; he entered the game hitting .274 with a 139 wRC+. He led off the ballgame with a moonshot on a fastball at the letters from Nick Martinez (431 feet, 111.2 EV). He tagged Martinez again in his second at-bat, putting him halfway to his first 30-homer season. He’s also two away from tying the most steals he’s had since 2019, his career-high being 29 back in 2017. Please stay healthy.
Alejandro Kirk (TOR): 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Kirk got the Jays on the board in the second by sending a heater at the letters from Ryne Nelson 398 feet to right-center for his sixth shot of the season. Kirk’s bat-to-ball ability has been marveled at for a while (career 11.4% strikeout rate), but that sort of oppo-power is a game-changer. Sure enough, he did it again in the seventh, taking Tony Disco over the wall in right for his seventh (363 feet, 98.9 mph EV). This feels a little like when Dr. Grant took his shades off when he first laid eyes on Jurassic Park. Yes, the power is real! And oh, he’s also hitting .313, second-best among qualified catchers.
James Wood (WSN): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
He’s something else, isn’t he? His 19th came on a sinker from Chase Dollander in the fourth, a two-run jack to left-center that put the Nats ahead 2-0 in the fourth (403 feet, 110 mph EV). However, he saved his best for the bottom of the eleventh, when he took a hanging splitter from Seth Halvorsen for a ride to deep central for the first walk-off tater of his career; it also ended an 11-game losing streak. Wood is hitting .284, and is halfway to joining Alfonso Soriano, Vladimir Guerrero, and Bryce Harper as the fourth player with a 40-homer season in Nats franchise history. According to Sarah Langs, he’s the youngest player in franchise history to have a multi-home run game, including a walk-off. He also needs more All-Star votes.
Colton Cowser (BAL): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Cowser came up huge for the O’s. With the game tied 1-1 in the sixth, he parked a 0-2 heater from Edwin Uceta over the fence in right for what ended up being a game-winning, three-run jack. In case you were wondering, yes, his home run on Wednesday also came on a 0-2 pitch. That’s neat. The 25-year-old lefty out of Sam Houston is striking out at a 36.5% clip, so his batting average might sting. But the power plays; that’s six home runs in 62 at-bats.
Lars Nootbaar (STL): 1-5, HR, R, RBI.
In the second game of yesterday’s double-dip, Nootbaar followed a go-ahead single from Nolan Arenado in the tenth by sending a fastball from righty reliever Dan Altavilla over the right field fence for his ninth of the season. Nootbaar began the season red-hot but has been mired in a tailspin; he entered yesterday’s doubleheader hitting .106 in June and had been dropped to seventh in the Cards’ lineup. Nootbaar makes for a decent buy-low, but probably more so in OBP formats where you can take advantage of his 12.7% walk rate.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
PCA planted a letter-high fastball from Freddy Peralta over the ivy in right, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead in the first. Sure, the Cubs didn’t win, but their electric center fielder is the first player of the year with a 20-20 season. He’s the fastest and youngest player with a 20-20 season in Cubs history. Tuesday night, he drilled a 452-foot shot off lefty reliever Rob Zastrzny, his longest and the longest from a Cub all year. There are breakouts and then there’s whatever this is. I suppose if there is one thing you can nitpick over, it’s that his swing decisions are suspect (64 DV+) and he strikes out a bit (90 Contact Ability+). Still, where’s the fun in that?
Xander Bogaerts (SDP): 4-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI.
Bogaerts limped into last night’s game against the Dodgers, hitting .227 with a 76 wRC+. And then, he started the scoring in LA last night by taking Yoshinobu Yamamato deep in his first at-bat. Go figure. Bogaerts has shown a terrific Contact Ability+ of 115, or about a standard deviation above the league norm, suggesting that his average should trend upward. His Power+ of 92, on the other hand, indicates his days of being a 20-home run guy aren’t coming back anytime soon.
Andrew Benintendi (CHW): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.
Benintendi drilled a game-tying grand slam in the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader. That’s seven home runs for the former Red Sox, who entered the day hitting .235 with a 98 wRC+ as the White Sox’s three hitter. He’s shown a Power of 108+, about half a standard deviation above the norm. Deep leaguers might want to be at least aware of him. No? Yeah, you’re probably right.
Nick Kurtz (ATH): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Nicky Nukes strikes again. His second walk-off home run this week came on a 96 mph sinker from Josh Hader and landed 416 feet to straightaway center. Coming on his 131st at-bat, the solo shot lifted him past prospect status. According to Elias, he is the youngest player in MLB history with two walkoff dingers in a single series. He is also the second player 22 or younger to hit two walk-off home runs within a month, the other being Hall of Famer Eddie Murray. Whiffs have been an issue (31.5% K rate), but yeah, his pop is off the charts; for those keeping tabs, his 125 Power+ ranks 15th among hitters who have faced at least 400 pitches.
Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
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