The Kansas City Royals are calling up slugger Jac Caglianone, one of the top prospects in baseball, less than a year after choosing him with the sixth pick in the draft, sources tell ESPN.
In his first full professional season, the 22-year-old Caglianone has crushed pitching at Double-A and Triple-A, combining for 15 home runs and 56 RBIs across 50 games while hitting .322/.389/.593.
A 6-foot-5, 250-pound two-way player at the University of Florida, Caglianone transitioned to a full-time offensive player after joining the Royals organization following last July’s draft. Originally a first baseman, he has spent the majority of his Triple-A games in the outfield and is expected to play there when he joins the Royals for their series that starts Tuesday in St. Louis.
Caglianone’s calling card is top-of-the-scale power, seen in numerous tape-measure home runs this season. With exit velocities that rival those of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, Caglianone is expected to eventually be a staple in the middle of the Royals’ order along with Bobby Witt Jr.
For a player with such immense power, Caglianone has struck out in only 20% of his plate appearances this season. Kansas City was loath to promote him, though, because of fears that he chased too many pitches outside of the strike zone and could be exposed by premium pitches in the major leagues.
Kansas City’s offensive struggles buried those fears enough to summon him to the big leagues.
The Royals, in fourth place in the American League Central with a 31-29 record, have allowed the second-fewest runs in Major League Baseball, 201, behind only the New York Mets. They’ve scored the second fewest, 194, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies, who at 9-50 are trending toward the worst record in MLB history.
The Royals’ outfielders in particular have struggled mightily. In 663 plate appearances this season, they are hitting .237/.283/.330 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs. The slugging percentage, home runs and RBI totals are all the worst in MLB.
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