Caglianone to make pro debut with River Bandits

KANSAS CITY -- Jac Caglianone, the Royals’ first-round Draft pick, will make his professional debut on Tuesday for High-A Quad Cities.

After he was selected No. 6 overall in last month’s MLB Draft, Caglianone officially signed with the Royals on July 24 and headed to Arizona the next day to get his career started. Less than two weeks later, he is headed back to the Midwest, skipping Single-A Columbia to begin his career in High-A.

The at-bats, his approach and the way he handled himself dictated the move.

“He was able to play in games, live BPs, and he had a really good week,” director of player development Mitch Maier said. “And he’s ready to get out and get playing at one of the affiliates. Just seeing what he did in college and what he did this past week, we feel comfortable that he can go to Quad Cities and start his professional career there.

“We’re really excited to get him out and get him going with the group and see what he can do.”

Caglianone’s experience at Florida and in the Southeastern Conference puts him in a position to move quickly through the Royals’ system, and his debut in Quad Cities is the first step. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound slugger has 70-grade power and bashed 68 home runs over his final two seasons with the Gators. He hit 35 as a junior in ‘24, including home runs in nine consecutive games from April 6-19, tying the NCAA record and surpassing the Major League record of eight. Caglianone’s .419 average was third best in Division I this season, and his .544 on-base percentage was driven by a walk total (58) that was more than double his strikeout total (26).

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Caglianone’s power is well-advertised and likely will be his ticket to the Major Leagues one day. Getting to know him more as a person reinforced to the Royals’ player development staff that Caglianone was ready for affiliate ball.

“When you start to meet someone and see the way they work and the way they go about their business, those are the things that you really start to see, on top of the work of our scouts and what’s out there publicly from when he was in college,” Maier said. “You get a chance to see him day to day, see the work, see the stuff that most don’t get to see all the time, and you can start to appreciate the athlete and the type of baseball player he can be. He was really, really impressive to watch.

“To see him go about his business every day gave us a better chance to get to know him on a personal level. We really look forward to getting him to Quad Cities and getting him going into his professional career.”

Despite his selection as a two-way player and the Royals not shutting the door on Caglianone’s pitching career yet, the 21-year-old is focusing on hitting for the rest of this season as he gets used to professional baseball. These next five weeks of the Minor League season will be Caglianone’s first time playing six days a week.

First base will be his primary position, although he could see some days as the designated hitter.

The Royals signed 19 of their 20 Draft picks from last month and will see some of them make their pro debuts at the lower-level affiliates over the next month. Heading to Quad Cities with Caglianone this week is right-handed pitcher Andrew Morones, the Royals’ 16th-round Draft pick out of Cal State Fullerton. Thirteenth-rounder Sam Kulasingham, an infielder out of the Air Force Academy, and 11th-rounder Zach Cawyer, a right-handed pitcher out of TCU, are headed to Single-A Columbia this week.