Royals Top Prospect Jac Caglianone Finally Promoted To Majors

Kansas City's rising slugger has been promoted to the big leagues after crushing AAA. Jac Caglianone could be the next rookie sensation worth stashing in fantasy baseball.

The Kansas City Royals draft Jac Caglianone as the sixth pick during the first round of the MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The next big fantasy bat has arrived in Kansas City, and he has the potential to drive the Royals up the American League standings, along with improving fantasy lineups.

Get ready, Kansas City!

MLB's No. 10 prospect Jac Caglianone has officially been called up to the @Royals Big League club 👀 pic.twitter.com/btIX0Heqlk

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 2, 2025

Jac Caglianone shouldn’t be a secret to anyone in the baseball market, as his swing has been making waves all year. Over his 38 games at AA, he hit .316 with 29 runs, nine home runs, 44 RBIs, and two stolen bases over 152 at-bats. His strikeout rate (21.3) and walk rate (10.3) were in winning areas, especially for a player with his ceiling in power.

Jac Caglianone Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Kansas City bumped Caglianone to AAA on May 20th. Six games later, he already had nine hits over 26 at-bats with five runs, five home runs, and 10 RBIs, putting him on the fast track to the majors. Over his following six starts, his bat fell into the steady category (6-for-21 with four runs, one home run, and three RBIs) while gaining more experience in the outfield (14 games this season). His approach (five walks and nine strikeouts) stayed intact, a hopeful hint that Caglianone won’t have a long learning curve in the majors.

Over three seasons at Florida in college, he hit .355 with 176 runs, 75 home runs, 189 RBIs, and eight steals over 634 at-bats. Caglianone reached beast status in his final year (.419/83/35/72/4 over 248 at-bats), highlighted by his walk-to-strikeout ratio (58:26).

Nick Kurtz

This season, two talented hitters failed to hit the ground running. Nick Kurtz opened his major league career with weakness over his first 77 at-bats (.208 with six runs, one home run, and six RBIs) while having a massive spike in his strikeout rate (36.5 – 27.1 at AAA in 2025 ~ .321/18/7/24 over 84 at-bats). 

His bat came alive from May 20th to May 24th for the A’s at home, leading to a .412 batting average over 17 at-bats with five runs, four home runs, and nine RBIs while taking five walks and striking out five times. Unfortunately, a hamstring issue pushed him to the injured list for the past nine days, with an unknown return date.

Jordan Lawlar

Jordan Lawlar has the profile of a future first-round fantasy player, with those supporting stats this season at AAA (.338/39/6/33/13 over 160 at-bats). His walk rate (10.4) graded well, while his strikeout rate was below the major league average (23.6). 

Arizona called him up in mid-May, but they didn’t have a starting opportunity for him. Lawlar was overmatched at the plate (no hits over 19 at-bats with three walks and nine strikeouts), with his highlight moment coming in a foul home run down the left field line in his second-to-last game with the Diamondbacks.

The History Of Fantasy Baseball Top Prospects

The excitement of young stud bats can lead to difference-maker seasons in their rookie campaigns. Here are a few hitters that had early success when called up to the majors:

• 2001 Albert Pujols – At age 21, he made the Cardinals' opening day roster. Over 161 games, Pujols hit .329 with 112 runs, 37 home runs, 130 RBIs.
• 2007 Ryan Braun – The Brewers called him up on May 25th. Over his 113 games, he hit .324 with 91 runs, 34 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases over 451 at-bats.
• 2012 Mike Trout – A late April call-up after getting 123 at-bats of experience the previous year (.220/20/5/16/4). He went on to lead the American League in runs (129) and stolen bases (49), with success in batting average (.326) and home runs (30) over 559 at-bats.
• 2022 Julio Rodriguez – April didn’t go well for Rodriguez after earning a starting job for the Mariners in spring training. He went 15-for-73 with nine runs, no home runs, six RBIs, and nine steals while striking out 37.0% of the time. Over the final five months with a short IL stint, Rodriguez hit .297 over 438 at-bats with 75 runs, 28 home runs, 69 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases while making much better contact (strikeout rate – 24.0).

Despite the previous failures of young players, the fantasy market still needs to identify the next big prospects, as the free agent pool is filled with mediocrity. The goal is to add upside talent with starting opportunities. Jac Caglianone is this week’s fantasy dream that hopefully turns into a winning investment.