Royals Must Call Up No. 1 Prospect After Insane 5-Homer Tear At Triple-A

The Kansas City Royals probably wanted to see how number-one prospect Jac Caglianone would adjust to Triple-A competition before determining when to call him up to the big leagues.

Well, he's adjusted. And he's making it hard to ignore the dichotomy between his ungodly power and the Royals' egregious lack of it.

Caglianone tore up Double-A for 38 games this year and got his Triple-A promotion at the start of last week. His first six games at Triple-A have been all the proof the Royals need that he's ready for the big-time.

After going homerless in his first two games with Triple-A Omaha, Caglianone has homered in each of his last four. And on Sunday, he crushed two home runs, the first of which traveled a staggering 459 feet.

So the 22-year-old has five home runs in just six games at Triple-A. Meanwhile, the entire Royals outfield has combined for seven in 54 games, two fewer than any other team in Major League Baseball.

After barely winning one game in their three-game tilt with the Minnesota Twins over the weekend, the Royals sit at 29-25, barely clinging to the third Wild Card spot in the American League standings. To keep pace with the rest of the league this summer, they simply have to add more offense.

Caglianone swings at too many pitches outside the zone, and he's going to have a learning curve against major league pitching. It seems like the Royals are trying to protect him from that by letting him make some of his mistakes against the less-explosive Triple-A arms.

But even a struggling Caglianone will be an improvement for the Royals' lineup over Nick Loftin, or Drew Waters, or whoever else he might be replacing in the lineup that day. They can afford to let him make all his mistakes, because even if they're technically in win-now mode, he's not lowering their ceiling--or their floor.

So consider this an earnest plea. if Caglianone isn't in the big leagues by mid-June at the latest, the Royals are doing themselves (and the fan base) a major disservice.

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