Entering Jac Caglianone’s MLB debut, the Kansas City Royals sat 28th in MLB in runs per game. They also found themselves among the bottom five clubs in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, wOBA, OPS, and wRC+. Their 34 home runs ranked last.
Meanwhile, the organization’s top prospect was absolutely raking in the minor leagues. Through 38 games at Double-A, Caglianone slashed .322/.394/.553 with nine home runs and a 157 wRC+. A quick promotion to Triple-A didn’t faze him at all; he crushed six home runs in 12 games, posting an even more impressive 166 wRC+.
All told, his 159 wRC+ ranked seventh among all minor leaguers (min. 200 PA) as of Tuesday. If you limit the sample to Double and Triple-A, he ranked third.
So, with the Royals struggling to score enough runs to support their pitchers and Caglianone making his minor league competition look foolish, it was only a matter of time before the young slugger got the call to the show.
Considering how few impact bats the Royals have right now, it was no surprise to see Caglianone batting sixth in his very first big league game, right behind franchise legend Salvador Perez. That might be a lot of pressure to put on a 22-year-old, but everything we saw from him in the minors suggested he was up for the challenge.
As for how he fits in defensively, Caglianone has played a handful of games in the outfield corners this year, but he is primarily a first baseman. With Vinnie Pasquantino entrenched at first (and finally swinging a hot bat), Royals fans can expect Caglianone to play most of his games at DH – like he did in his debut.
Things will get a little complicated on days when Perez isn’t catching, but Matt Quatraro has options if he’s willing to be creative.
Sometimes Perez will get the day off. Sometimes Caglianone will sit, perhaps when a tough southpaw is on the mound. Other times, Pasquantino can sit, and one of Perez or Caglianone will play first base.
Finally, if Quatraro wants all four of Perez, Pasquantino, Caglianone, and Freddy Fermin in the lineup, he could give Caglianone an audition in the outfield. The glove might be questionable, but if Caglianone can hit anything like he did in the minors, Kansas City can stomach some poor defense. Royals outfielders have a league-worst 71 wRC+ in 2025.
A Bright Light?
It hasn’t even been a year since the Royals took Jac Caglianone sixth overall in the 2024 draft. Last night, he made his MLB debut.
It wasn’t a great performance by Caglianone (he went 0-for-5), but the Royals’ bats finally came alive. Every other player in the starting lineup had at least one hit and either drove in or scored a run. The Royals beat the Angels 10-7.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence, or perhaps Caglianone’s exciting promotion lit a fire under his slumping teammates. The Royals will hope their bats stay hot, and if Caglianone’s exit velocities were any indication, it won’t be long before he’s hot too.
Four of the rookie’s five batted balls registered as hard-hit, including two groundouts over 112 mph. His average bat speed was the fastest on the team, and if he qualified for the bat speed leaderboard after just one game, he’d rank seventh, slotting right in between Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
The future is bright for Caglianone, and the Royals will hope he can be the bright spark their offense needs.
Jac Caglianone moved into the top 10 on Just Baseball’s newly updated Top 100 Prospects list earlier this week. To learn more about what makes him such a promising player, take a look at what Aram Leighton had to say in his write-up:
10. Jac Caglianone – 1B,RF – Kansas City Royals
Height/Weight: 6’5″, 250 | Bat/Throw: L/L | 1st Round (6), 2024 (KC) | ETA: 2026
| HIT | PLATE DISC. | GAME POWER | RUN | FIELD | FV |
| 40/50 | 35/40 | 70/80 | 40/40 | 40/50 | 60 |
Caglianone not only possesses the best power in the class, but he will immediately boast some of the best raw power in the Minor Leagues. The Royals are going to let Cags try the two-way thing out of the gate, and he does have some intrigue on the mound. That said, his offensive upside is so immense that the focus will likely be shifted to the batter’s box, much like Bryce Eldridge.
Offense
Caglianone possesses top-of-the-scale power with better contact skills than most hitters with his build (there aren’t many). Starting with a wide stance and his hands high, Caglianone loads with a pronounced weight shift into his back side in tandem with a very small stride. With two strikes, Caglianone spreads out ever wider, barely picking his front foot off of the ground, focusing on just shifting his weight towards his back hip.
For a hitter with such long levers, his minimal stride helps him consistently be on time and see the ball early. That said, it can be difficult to control the weight shift of such a big frame, often swaying back forward prematurely on secondary stuff. His path stays in the zone for so long paired with ridiculous strength, allowing him to get away with a drift more than most hitters, but his swing can be choppy or on a downward angle towards the ball, resulting in too many ground balls and a need to catch the ball further out front to get it in the air. His raw power is encroaching on 80 grade, already flashing exit velocities as high as 120 mph with metal while launching home runs with his “C” swings.
Caglianone’s flatter path and bat speed make him difficult to beat within the zone, where he posted a 92% contact rate in his draft year, though his hyper-aggressive approach can undermine his bat-to-ball skills, bringing his overall contact rate down to 79%. He chased as much as any pro prospect in college baseball, though he did cut his chase rate a good bit in pro ball while continuing to showcase top-of-the-scale power.
Being in a launch position earlier than most hitters allows him to see the ball earlier, but it can also push a hitter further into swing mode. His improvements against secondary pitches in his draft year were a positive sign, as was his huge leap left on left, hitting over .400 against southpaws followed by an OPS around .950 in the minor leagues leading into his call-up. Caglianone has some of the most ridiculous raw power in the Minor Leagues, but he may need to make some adjustments in the box mechanically to facilitate better swing decisions and more lift.
Defense/Speed
Capable of running it up to the upper 90s on the mound, Caglianone has a plus plus arm that could play well in right field. The Royals have split his time between first base and right field in 2025, and while it will take some time for him to get comfortable in the outfield, he has looked relatively comfortable given the circumstances. He is quite comfortable at first base, where he could be at least an average defender. He’s a below-average runner, but far from a clogger on the base paths.
Outlook
After getting his feet wet in 2024, Caglianone really hit his stride in pro ball as he just focused on hitting, mashing his way from High-A to an MLB debut in a span of 50 games during the 2025 season. His 80 grade power paired with average contact rates and improving chase rates give him the ingredients to be one of the best power hitters in all of baseball. The fact that he is showcasing at least some versatility by playing right field only helps his case as well.
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