The Jac Caglianone era is underway for the Royals. Tuesday evening, Kansas City’s No. 1 prospect made his big-league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium after only 79 minor-league games. Only Bo Jackson, who played 53 games in the minors, played fewer minor-league games before making his MLB debut among Royals’ position players, according to the team.
Caglianone, the No. 6 overall pick in last summer’s draft, batted sixth and started at DH in his MLB debut. In his first at-bat, he roped a line drive to center field that Victor Scott II ran down with a leaping catch. In his second at-bat, Nolan Arenado took away a hit with a nice backhand play. Welcome to the big leagues, Jac. They don’t play defense like this in Triple-A.
All told, Caglianone went 0 for 5 in his MLB debut Tuesday. He lined out to Scott in his first at-bat, grounded out to Arenado in his second at-bat, grounded out to first in his third at-bat, hit into another nice Arenado play in his fourth at-bat, and grounded out to second in his fifth at-bat. Caglianone did not seem overwhelmed — if anything, he made good contact and got robbed by Scott and Arenado. An encouraging 0 for 5, you could say.
The rest of the Royals stole the spotlight from Caglianone with a thrilling comeback against their in-state rivals. The Cardinals had a 7-2 lead after three innings against Michael Lorenzen, then Kansas City put together a six-run fifth inning to take the lead. They added a few insurance runs late and scored eight unanswered runs after falling behind 7-2. The Royals won Caglianone’s debut 10-7 (box score).
Caglianone will likely see most of his time at first base and DH, at least initially. Those were his primary positions in the minors. The Royals have exposed Caglianone to the outfield some, particularly right field, though it’s only 14 total games of outfield experience in the minors. The outfield is a major weakness in Kansas City and could be Caglianone’s long-term home.
Earlier this week our R.J. Anderson looked at Caglianone’s game and noted that although he has elite power, there are some concerns about his approach (and short-term positional fit) that could prevent him from making an immediate impact. Still, Kansas City’s offense has been so weak this year that it’s worth giving a player with Caglianone’s pop a try.
Here’s where the Royals ranked in various offensive categories entering play Tuesday:
| Royals | MLB rank | |
|---|---|---|
|
Batting average |
.247 |
14th |
|
On-base percentage |
.300 |
26th |
|
Slugging percentage |
.359 |
27th |
|
Home runs |
34 |
30th |
|
Runs per game |
3.23 |
29th |
The Royals are hitting for a decent average, at least relative to this low average era, but they don’t walk and they don’t hit for power. Every other team has hit at least 43 homers this year. That’s a problem and one the Royals hope Caglianone can fix. Tuesday’s win was only the fourth time in their last 22 games that the Royals scored more than four runs. That simply is not enough.
Despite the below average offense, Tuesday’s win improved the Royals to 32-29 this season. Their pitching has been outstanding. Kansas City’s staff entered Tuesday ranked fourth among all teams with a 3.23 ERA and 8.6 pitching WAR.
