It was another eye-popping week on the stat sheet for the Royals' top prospect and MLB's tenth ranked overall prospect. Jac Caglianone earned recognition in my weekly prospect spotlight three weeks ago, but if that wasn't enough, he had to top his performance at Double-A Northwest Arkansas earlier in May and do it for Triple-A Omaha this week.
Not even a year removed from playing college baseball, Caglianone's onslaught of minor league pitching is begging the question: how much longer can the Royals keep him in Triple-A before he forces their hand?
Jac Caglianone continues to crush Minor League pitching
Following a huge spring training for the Royals in big league camp, Caglianone opened the season in Double-A where he played 38 games. In 175 plate appearances, he hit .322/.394/.553 with nine home runs. That certainly was more than enough for the Royals to feel comfortable about handing Caglianone a promotion to Triple-A on May 19th.
Following the call-up, the left-handed slugger picked right back up where he left off. In fact, he turned it up a notch. In 28 plate appearances across six games, Caglianone left the yard five times, all of which came in consecutive days dating back to Thursday.
He finished the week with a 1.280 OPS and a .346/.357/.923 slash line. His 14 total home runs are tied for the minor league lead, and keep in mind, he's a first-year pro doing this across Double-A and Triple-A.
The home runs for Caglianone haven't been cheap either. He's consistently leaving the yard with 110 mph+ exit velocities and 400+ foot distances. His final round-tripper on Sunday traveled 459 feet — the ninth-furthest home run hit at the Triple-A level this year, and further than any home run hit off the bat of a Kansas City Royal. Despite having spent only a week in Triple-A, this definitely leaves the Royals with some decisions to make.
Caglianone's performance leaves the Royals with some decisions to make
As it stands at the moment, the Royals are 29-26, leaving them six games back in the American League Central, and tied with the Astros for the final wild card spot.
The Royals should certainly be in the postseason mix come late summer, but simply put, they're lacking the firepower at the plate to really make them a contender. Collectively, the offense ranks in the bottom five in slugging percentage (.363), OPS (.663), and wRC+ (83), and ranks dead last in home runs with only 33.
Only six different hitters have more than one home run on the season while only three have hit five or more. Vinnie Pasquantino leads the team with only eight. There just isn't enough impact in the lineup, and while Bobby Witt Jr. should start heating up at some point, their answer to their power concerns is internal.
The main concern with Caglianone as a hitter comes from his hit tool. He does have a history of some swing and miss that he improved upon last year at the University of Florida, but he still does chase at an above average rate.
That is the one part of Caglianone's game that can be exploited at the big league level, however, he's crushing pitches inside the zone. Major league pitchers will challenge him more than MiLB pitchers, but if the Royals' big league hitting staff can help eliminate some of his chase habits, pitchers might be met with a rude awakening if they're okay with challenging him in the zone.
On top of that, he's making contact with pitches outside of the zone at an above-average rate, and also doing some damage to said pitches. There isn't a lot to work with as a pitcher facing Caglianone — the only hope would be that he's simply overwhelmed by big league stuff.
The hit tool isn't as much of a concern to me as his defense is. He was a two-way player at Florida, and played first base when he wasn't pitching or serving as DH. First base is obviously blocked by Vinnie Pasquantino on the MLB roster, and Caglianone has gotten minimal experience in the corner outfield spots.
He should have the athleticism and arm strength to hold his own out there, but you also can't throw someone out there with minimal pro experience and not expect them to be a defensive liability. The good news for Caglianone is that all of his value comes from his bat, and the Royals might be willing to sacrifice some defensive value in order to get his bat in the lineup.
Getting him some experience in the outfield might be the only thing keeping the Royals from calling him up right now. You also don't want the added pressure of learning a new position while also adjusting to major league pitching.
With that being said, it should only be a matter of time before we see him launching home runs at Kauffman Stadium.