The former Gators ballplayer is crushing it at every level Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Gators Baseball Star, Royals Top Prospect Tearing Up Minor Leagues

Originally posted on Florida Gators on SI
By Harrison Smajovits | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 12:04 PM ET

Florida Gators two-way star and Kansas City Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone has quickly become a phenom in the professional realm.

His historic run for the Gators in 2024 carried over into Spring Training. In 14 games of Cactus League play, Caglianone had a slash line of .500/.609/1.167 with three home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs.

A reminder that that third number is his slugging and not his OPS. This OPS is an equally absurd 1.776.

Despite the dominant showing in Spring, the Royals opted to send him to Double-A to start the season. He’s already made that look easy.

MLB highlighted his start after he blasted a three-run home run Tuesday night.

Jac Caglianone just BLASTED a 3-run homer to the moon

Here are his Double-A numbers to start the season:
15 AB
.400 AVG
2 HR
10 RBI
1.288 OPS pic.twitter.com/YR8xNPk5LQ
— MLB (@MLB) April 9, 2025

Following an off night by his standards on Wednesday - he went 1-for-5 with an RBI single - he’s slashing .333/.407/.607 for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Enjoy his swings at the plate because it might be a while before he pitches again - if he does. When he earned an invite to Spring Training, his bat was made a priority since it would be his quickest route to the Majors. Pitching could be added into the mix later.

Even as just a first baseman, he’s the No. 21 prospect in MLB.com’s top 100. What you saw in Gainesville wasn’t because he had an aluminum bat. He’s doing just as well with a maple or birch wood stick.

He’s projected to reach the Majors in 2026, according to his prospect profile. That seems like a long wait. He looked ready for the Majors out of Spring Training, and looks ready now.

Perhaps a fair counterargument is that we need to wait and see if he can keep this up for a large sample size. Baseball is finicky like that. That being said, if he looks this way out of the gate, it’s crazy to imagine what he’ll look like with further development.

Caglianone holds the record for most home runs in a season (35) and home runs in a career (75) for the Gators. He won multiple awards and was drafted sixth overall by the Royals in 2024.