Royals' Jac Caglianone: Hitting well on rehab assignment
Rotowire
Caglianone (hamstring) has gone 14-for-34 with three home runs and a 5:2 K:BB over his first eight rehab contests with Triple-A Omaha.
He's made six starts in right field, as well as one apiece at first base and designated hitter. Caglianone appears ready for activation from the 10-day injured list, but the Royals haven't indicated when exactly that transaction will take place. The rookie has been shelved since late July with a strained left hamstring.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Four hits in first rehab game
Rotowire
Caglianone (hamstring) went 4-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored in his first rehab game with Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.
Caglianone didn't show any rust as he played in his first game in more than two weeks, picking up four singles for the Storm Chasers. The rookie also played all nine innings in right field and looks to be nearing a return to the Royals' active roster, which could come as soon as this weekend against the White Sox.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Rehab assignment pending
Rotowire
Caglianone's (hamstring) recovery has been going well and he is on track to begin a rehab assignment next week, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reported Friday.
Caglianone has been tending to a strained left hamstring that has kept him on the sidelines since July 26. The rookie outfielder is getting close to starting a minor-league rehab assignment, which signals he could return in mid-August. He's slashing .147/.205/.280 with five homers in 161 plate appearances with the Royals.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Hits and throws, not running yet
Rotowire
Caglianone resumed taking live at-bats last Thursday and has been throwing, but the Royals haven't cleared him for running as he works his way back from a left hamstring strain, MLB.com reports.
Caglianone hasn't experienced any setbacks in his recovery from the left hamstring strain that landed him on the injured list July 27, but until he's able to run the bases and change direction without an issue, his return to the Royals shouldn't be viewed as imminent. With Kansas City having acquired outfielders Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski since Caglianone sustained his injury, the rookie could be a candidate to handle more starts at designated hitter once he's activated from the IL if the Royals are keen are preserving his health.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
Caglianone isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game versus Miami.
Caglianone will grab a seat on the bench after going 1-for-4 with a walk in Friday's game. John Rave will take over in right field and bat eighth.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Getting rest Thursday
Rotowire
Caglianone isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.
Caglianone dominated minor-league pitching at both Double-A and Triple-A earlier this season, but his MLB career has gotten off to a slow start, as he has slashed just .144/.194/.237 through his first 22 games with the Royals. He'll take a day off Thursday to reset, opening up right field for John Rave.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Belts first major-league homers
Rotowire
Caglianone went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Rangers.
Caglianone entered Thursday's game with a sub-.200 batting average in 52 plate appearances. However, he looked more composed at the plate as he collected his first major-league home run off Jacob Latz in the second inning before belting another solo homer in the ninth to give the Royals a three-run lead. Caglianone now has a .218/.232/.364 slash line through his first 14 big-league games.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Sitting for first time since call-up
Rotowire
Caglianone is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.
Caglianone will take a seat for the first time since receiving his much-anticipated promotion to the big leagues June 2. The early returns have been disappointing for the 22-year-old slugger, who is batting .196 with two extra-base hits (both doubles) and just one walk in 52 plate appearances (1.9 BB%). Caglianone doesn't appear to be in any real danger of losing hold of an everyday role, but fantasy managers in shallower leagues might walk to look elsewhere for help in the homer and RBI categories until the rookie starts tapping into more of his immense power potential.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Added to major-league roster
Rotowire
The Royals selected Caglianone's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Monday.
Caglianone's promotion is official and he will make his major-league debut Tuesday in St. Louis. The 22-year-old earned a call-up after slashing .322/.389/.593 with 15 home runs and two stolen bases over 50 games between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Omaha. Caglianone is expected to see most of his playing time in right field for the Royals, but he can also handle first base.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Bumped up to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Royals promoted Caglianone from Double-A Northwest Arkansas to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports.
Caglianone will head to Omaha after producing a .316/.385/.546 slash line with nine home runs, two stolen bases and a 21.3 percent strikeout rate over 174 plate appearances in his 38 games with Northwest Arkansas this season. The sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft is now just one step away from reaching the big leagues, and a promotion should come later this summer if he continues to rake against International League pitching.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Getting time in the outfield
Rotowire
Caglianone made his first career start in the outfield in right field Thursday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas, MLB.com reports. He's hitting .284/.356/.500 with four home runs in 18 games.
Kansas City has had very little production from their outfield this season, so this could get Caglianone to the majors faster if he's able to hold his own with his glove. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft is primarily a first baseman and hadn't previously played the outfield in the minors or college.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Blisters ball at 120.9 mph
Rotowire
Caglianone, who is slashing .346/.406/.615 through six games with Double-A Northwest Arkansas this season, hit an opposite-field single at 120.9 mph off the bat Thursday, Chris Clegg of The Dynasty Dugout reports.
As Clegg notes, the hardest-hit ball the Royals have ever had in the Statcast era was 118 mph off the bat of Eric Hosmer in 2017. Further, Caglianone's two homers this season have both traveled more than 460 feet, per Pete Grathoff of The Kansas City Star. While it's a stretch to think the Royals would jump their top prospect over Triple-A and straight the big-league level, that's not unheard of by any stretch. Kansas City is tied for dead last in the majors this season with only six home runs as a team.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Shows off power
Rotowire
Caglianone hit a 435-foot home run with a 115.4 mph exit velocity in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the White Sox, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Caglianone has at least 70-grade raw power and is in his first big-league camp. The Royals coaches were very complimentary of Caglianone, who is working on not swinging as hard as he can every time, and letting his natural raw power do the work while chasing less. If he can develop even just a 50-grade hit tool, Caglianone could annually be among the league leaders in home runs. He is likely to open the year at Double-A, but from there, he'll climb as quickly and as far as his talent takes him.
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Royals' Jac Caglianone: Earns spring training invite
Rotowire
The Royals have extended Caglianone an invitation to big-league camp during spring training, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Caglianone got in 29 games at High-A Quad Cities after being taken with the sixth overall pick of the First-Year Player Draft in 2024, but it's fairly customary for prospects of his stature to be invited to big-league camp, even if he has no chance of making the Opening Day roster. Also of note is that Caglianone -- who was a two-way player in college at Florida -- will not do any pitching in 2025, instead focusing only on hitting and playing first base.
