Kansas City Royals Top Prospect Jac Caglianone Earns MLB Spring Training Invite

The Kansas City Royals have invited top prospect Jac Caglianone to their major league Spring Training camp, MLB.com's Anne Rogers reported Friday.

Caglianone was the Royals' first pick pick last summer, going No. 6 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft before ultimately securing a $7.5 million signing bonus. The University of Florida product is currently ranked as the No. 1 prospect in Kansas City's farm system and the No. 17 overall prospect in all of baseball.

Per Rogers, Kansas City will also be inviting its second and third-ranked hitting prospects – catchers Blake Mitchell and CarterJensen – to Surprise, Arizona.

Caglianone is the headliner of the trio, though, thanks in large part to his astonishing accomplishments at the plate and on the mound during his time in Gainesville.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021, Caglianone was restricted to suiting up as a designated hitter his freshman year at Florida. The southpaw then started playing both ways in 2023, getting named a consensus All-American as the Gators made it all the way to the College World Series Finals.

Caglianone, once again a consensus All-American, guided the Gators back to the CWS Semifinals in 2024. He hit .419 with 35 home runs, 72 RBI and a 1.419 OPS in 66 games last year, all while going 5-2 with a 4.72 ERA, 1.520 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings across 16 starts.

Upon signing with the Royals, Caglianone appeared in 29 games at High-A, batting .241 with two home runs, 14 RBI, two stolen bases and a .690 OPS. Kansas City sent Caglianone to the Arizona Fall League to close out the year, and he proceeded to hit .236 with five home runs, 21 RBI a .749 OPS in 21 games.

Caglianone will be focusing on hitting and fielding for now, putting his career as a pitcher on the back burner for the time being. Vinnie Pasquantino is currently blocking him at first base, but either one could move to designated hitter when it's time for them to suit up as big league teammates.

This spring will give Caglianone a taste of that, even if the 21-year-old is still expected to start the regular season in Double-A.

The Royals haven't invited their most recent first round pick to Spring Training since 2006, when Alex Gordon got the early call. That's pretty solid company for Caglianone to join, considering Gordon went on to make three All-Star appearances, earn eight Gold Gloves and win a World Series ring across 14 seasons in Kansas City.