Kansas City Royals' Slugging Prospect Does Something He's Never Done in Pro Career

Jac Caglianone hit two home runs on Tuesday for Double-A Arkansas, continuing his recent run of strong play, and fueling speculation about his opportunity to get to the big leagues.

Florida Gators first baseman Jac Caglianone (14) singles in the Texas A&M Aggies during the eighth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in 2024. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Kansas City Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone continued to turn heads on Tuesday, hitting two home runs for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. It's the first time that "Cags" has homered twice in the pros. He was the No. 6 pick in the draft just last season out of the University of Florida, where he helped lead the Gators to the College World Series in both 2023 and 2024.

Jac Caglianone can't be stopped.

The @Royals' No. 1 prospect went yard in his third straight game, notching his first pro mulithomer contest along the way: https://t.co/31cTM2ygOo pic.twitter.com/Mx6uVFqhlE

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 6, 2025

As this was going on, Jeff Passan of ESPN put out a post on social media about Caglianone. He said that "eventually," he will be an option for the Royals in the outfield, where they have collectively struggled. Caglianone is a first baseman by trade but he's gotten reps in the outfield.

Jac Caglianone’s power is special. Now hitting .330 with a 1.012 OPS at Double-A. The Royals are trying to be cautious, but at some point — sooner than later — he’s going to be a solution for their outfield, which is collectively hitting .226/.282/.325. pic.twitter.com/XsYx02q28L

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 6, 2025

The No. 18 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, Caglianone is hitting .330 with a .406 on-base percentage. He's got eight home runs, 31 RBIs and 15 walks this season for the Naturals. He's projected to make his major league debut in 2026, but he could accelerate sooner if the Royals need his bat for a playoff push.

They enter play on Tuesday at 20-16 overall and in third place in the American League Central.

The following comes from a portion Caglianone's MLB.com prospect profile:

Caglianone’s power was arguably the best in the 2024 Draft class. The left-handed slugger maxed out with a 121.7 mph exit velocity as a junior and didn’t stop there with a 117.3 mph max EV in the Fall League, second-best among batted balls measured by Statcast. That comes from Caglianone’s major strength at 6-foot-5 and the long levers that come with such a frame. He significantly cut his swing-and-miss rate in college in ’24, but he also swung a ton in general with a 39 percent chase rate. That was down only a touch in the Fall League, and more advanced arms will be able to take advantage if Caglianone can’t rein in his approach.

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