Royals No. 1 Prospect Jac Caglianone Gets MLB Debut Projection From MLB Insider
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As the Kansas City Royals' offense continues to struggle, every impressive feat by top prospect Jac Caglianone will be met with equal parts excitement and restlessness.
Caglianone, the 22-year-old first baseman whose exit velocities match the most powerful hitters in the majors, has been having a strong start to the season in Double-A, picking up where he left off in spring training. But it's also still the young slugger's first full year of professional baseball.
Still, Caglianone is slugging .529 through 17 games this year, and he recently picked up two hits against future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw on a rehab stint. Is there a path for the youngster to make it to Kansas City in time to support the 2025 playoff push?
During a recent Reddit "AMA," Royals beat reporter Anne Rogers gave a rough projection for when Caglianone might make it to the majors, though she stopped short of giving any specific dates or landmarks within the season.
"Yes, there is a path for Caglianone to get to the Major Leagues this season. It probably isn't as soon as some fans want it to be," Rogers wrote.
"Caglianone has had some great moments in Double-A, but his weaknesses have been exposed there, too. He crushes mistake pitches -- that's good. He doesn't do so well against the offspeed stuff pitchers execute, which leads to the chase -- that's where he'll need to adjust, because Major League teams will expose that relentlessly at this level."
Rogers also went on to state that it was more likely than not that Caglianone would get some time in Triple-A before progressing to Kansas City, and that her personal belief was that the first baseman's most likely path to playing time was at a corner outfield position.
So far, Caglianone has passed every checkpoint. But as nice as it would be to give the offense some support soon, it's far more important to prioritize the youngster's development, because he's going to be a fixture in the middle of the Royals' lineup someday.
More MLB: Royals Get Pessimistic Playoff Projection From Bleacher Report After Just 25 Games
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
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