The Kansas City Royals have decided to give prospect Jac Caglianone a taste of big league action after their season has been uneventful thus far. The 22-year-old has already made an impression in minor league baseball and is frequently predicted to be one of the best prospects in Major League Baseball.
Fans had been awaiting an offensive upgrade this season for a long time, and they were excited to get that in Caglianone. However, one insider is calling this move “irresponsible.”
MLB Insider Not in Favor of Royals’ Decision
In a video uploaded by CBS Sports on X, David P. Samson says, “What Kansas City has done is the single most irresponsible move I’ve seen in quite a long a time. If he’s gonna be that good, how do you call him up now where he will hit arbitration a full year earlier than if they had waited till after around June 17?”
“What Kansas City has done is the single-most irresponsible move I’ve seen in quite a long a time.”@DavidPSamson breaks down why he is not a fan of the Royals calling up MLB’s No. 10 prospect Jac Caglianone when they did. pic.twitter.com/WiesDWvlXX
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 2, 2025
Just 324 days after Kansas City picked the University of Florida graduate with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Royals’ top prospect is scheduled to make his Major League debut on Tuesday.
Caglianone grew up in Tampa and went to H.B. Plant High School, which also produced Pete Alonso and Kyle Tucker. After suffering an elbow injury, Caglianone moved to Florida, where he developed into one of the century’s most prolific collegiate athletes.
Caglianone has raced up the minor-league ladder while rocketing baseballs with outstanding exit velocity. The 6-foot-5 left-hander, who made an impression during big league spring training, with 15 home runs in 50 games, split between Double-A and Triple-A.
But why is he a big deal? To put it simply, he smacks the baseball with incredible force. Caglianone hit an opposite-field single at 120.9 mph earlier in the minor league season. The juice at the top of the scales puts him in a unique position. Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sánchez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., and Oneil Cruz are the only six players in the Statcast Era (since 2017) to hit a ball that firmly.
Why, then, isn’t he baseball’s top prospect? Caglianone was ranked around No. 40 on public prospect rankings going into spring training. Granted, that was prior to Cags dominating minor league pitching for nearly two months and making an impression throughout spring training.
Nevertheless, this guy has a lot of flaws; he chased so much, Caglianone was viewed as a high-risk candidate right out of college. In Florida, Caglianone’s out-of-zone swing rates were slightly below 40 percent, a warning sign that made many teams worry about how he would adapt to better pitching in the professional ranks.
