Royals Two-Way Phenom Debuts In Latest Top 100 Prospect Rankings
The Kansas City Royals have had one super-prospect in the past five seasons. His name was Bobby Witt Jr.
Having soared through the minors and cut his teeth in 2022 with the Royals, Witt has become a nationally-recognized superstar. He's led the Royals out of the basement in the American League Central and given fans a reason to be hopeful about the future of this team for years to come.
Now, though he hasn't yet reached Witt levels, the Royals just might have their second future superstar.
2024 Royals first-round pick Jac Caglianone, a first baseman/left-handed pitcher out of the University of Florida, is the talk of the Royals' farm system, and for good reason. On Tuesday, he made his debut on the latest top prospect rankings list.
Baseball America rated Caglianone the 50th-best prospect in all of baseball in their last update of the 2024 regular season, and their first since the draft. Caglianone was the only Royals farmhand on the list.
Hailed by many as the closest thing to Shohei Ohtani since, well... Shohei Ohtani, Caglianone was the recipient of college baseball's John Olerud Award in 2024, given to the best two-way player in the country.
Since debuting with High-A Quad Cities, Caglianone has focused solely on hitting while recovering from a long college season on the mound. He is slashing .258/.324/.441 with two home runs in 23 games thus far.
WIth a 70 grade power tool and the ability to throw 100-mile-per-hour fastballs, there aren't a lot of questions about Caglianone's physical attributes. He's got all the measurables needed to dominate Minor League Baseball, but he just has to go out and get the job done on the field.
If he handles his business, the 6-foot-5 Caglianone could be debuting at Kauffman Stadium by next season, both on the mound and in the batter's box. And with how exciting 2024 has already been for Royals fans, that could make 2025 a year for the history books.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org