Minor League Baseball

Kansas City Royals' Young Slugger Identified as Having Best Power of All Spring Breakout Players

After being selected in the first-round of the 2024 draft, Jac Caglianone is hitting .500 this spring with three homers.
Brady Farkas|
Kansas City Royals first round draft pick Jac Caglianone poses with his mother, Johanne Caglianone, for photos on the field prior to a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium in 2024.
Kansas City Royals first round draft pick Jac Caglianone poses with his mother, Johanne Caglianone, for photos on the field prior to a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium in 2024. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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Kansas City Royals

Jac Caglianone, the first-round draft pick for the Kansas City Royals in 2024, continues to turn heads ahead of the Royals' Spring Breakout game, which is March 14 against the Arizona Diamondbacks' prospects.

The Spring Breakout games were started last season as a way to show off the best young talent in baseball, and Caglianone definitely fits the bill.

He's ranked as the No. 22 prospect in the sport, via MLB Pipeline, and he'll eventually pair with Bobby Witt Jr. to make an exciting nucleus for the Royals, who advanced to the American League Division Series last season.

Caglianone led the Florida Gators to a College World Series berth in 2024, and because of his robust college experience, he could be a quick riser through the minor leagues. MLB.com predicts that he'll make his major league debut in 2026.

He hit .241 in 29 games after being drafted last year, playing for High-A Quad Cities. He had two home runs and 14 RBIs. He's hitting a robust .500 (6-for-12) this spring with three home runs.

MLB Pipeline recently said that he has the most power of any player playing in the Spring Breakout games.

The No. 6 overall choice in the 2024 Draft, Caglianone has more usable power than anyone in the Minors. He's both physical and athletic at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, and he hits balls harder and farther than most big leagues can. He led NCAA Division I with 33 homers in 2023 before setting Florida records for round-trippers in a single season (35, second in D-I) and career (75) last spring...

At the major league level, the Royals will begin the season on March 27 at home against the Cleveland Guardians. It's unclear at this time where Caglianone will debut.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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