Royals Make Long-Awaited Jac Caglianone Decision; MLB Debut Not Far Away
Help for the Kansas City Royals' offense is only one step away from the big leagues.
While the Royals' offense has had a disturbing lack of power all season, they've watched the number-one pure power-hitting prospect in the minors lay waste to Double-A pitching. Jac Caglianone, the Royals' number-one pick last summer, has lived up to every bit of the hype so far in 2025.
It only took 38 games for Caglianone to make it clear that he didn't belong at the Double-A level anymore. The 22-year-old first baseman/outfielder is now moving on up the ladder, with a highly anticipated major league debut lurking over the horizon.
On Sunday, the Royals announced that Caglianone was being promoted to Triple-A Omaha. Left-handed pitcher Frank Mozzicato was also promoted to Double-A simultaneously.
Caglianone wound up slashing .322/.394/.553 in Double-A, with nine home runs and a staggering 43 RBI. That's one more run driven in than the major league leader, Wilmer Flores of the San Francisco Giants, in 11 fewer at-bats.
Kansas City ranks dead last in all of baseball with 30 home runs. They also have only one home run from a right fielder, tied for last with the Tampa Bay Rays. Caglianone, who is attempting to learn right field on the fly, can't arrive soon enough to help this reeling offense.
And quietly, the 26-22 Royals have fallen to fourth place in the American League Central. They'll surely say they're prioritizing Caglianone's development over all else, but one has to wonder how soon the desire to win games will start influencing their thinking.
Royals fans will assuredly be watching closely to see how Caglianone fares in his first few Triple-A games. If all goes well, he could be in the bigs before the team breaks for the All-Star Game.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org