SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Welcome to the Cactus League, Jac Caglianone.
The top Royals prospect, and No. 22 in baseball on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, demolished a baseball for his first home run of the spring on Sunday, and the numbers speak for themselves:
115.4 mph exit velocity, 435 feet.
“That was loud,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “And it didn’t look like a huge effort on his part, either. We know he’s got huge pop, but to be able to put that good of a swing on the ball in a game like that, close game, controlling his emotions like that, it was good to see.”
Caglianone’s home run spurred the Royals’ late-inning comeback and 4-3 win over the White Sox on Sunday afternoon at Surprise Stadium, bringing Kansas City’s record to 3-0 after the first weekend of its spring slate.
Caglianone is participating in his first big league camp just six months after the Royals drafted him No. 6 overall in the 2024 Draft. A two-way star at Florida, Caglianone is in camp only as a position player this season, focusing on hitting and playing first base, as the Royals view his offensive potential as the fastest way to get to Kansas City -- and make an impact quickly there.
Sunday’s homer showed exactly why.
“That’s a gifted human. That is a very large human,” hitting coach Alec Zumwalt said. “... The biggest thing that I see with him is that he’s so strong, so quick, and now it’s just if we can tame it a little bit -- he doesn’t have to do more. He’s so gifted and strong, if he can take what Bobby [Witt Jr.] has learned about, ‘I don’t have to go 110% because what I might feel at 80% might feel like 10%, and the ball’s going to go.’ You also then start shrinking the strike zone, chase will go down, swing and miss will go down, because we’re not just missing balls because of effort.”
Caglianone heard similar advice Sunday from Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney, who told the slugger to dial back and just focus on making contact.
He took it to heart during Sunday’s at-bat in the eighth, taking a slider up for ball one, then fouling off a fastball.
“Swung a little too hard on the one I fouled off,” Caglianone said. “And then I was like, ‘All right, let’s actually try to dial it back.’ I did, and it worked out.”
The left-handed Caglianone got a sinker in the middle from lefty Trey McGough and sent it to -- and over -- the fans sun-bathing on the center field berm.
“It’s definitely a little weight off the shoulders,” Caglianone said.
Caglianone also knew he had to homer because his teammate and close friend Carter Jensen, MLB Pipeline’s No. 86 prospect, had smoked a ball earlier in the game, sending an elevated fastball 416 feet to right field with an exit velocity of 109.1 mph.
The two became close during the Arizona Fall League and noticed they kept homering on the same day there.
So the trend had to continue in the spring.
“Obviously, the physicality is insane,” Jensen said. “He’s probably one of the biggest people I know. He’s jacked. But the mindset is super advanced, especially for him going into his first year this year. … He handles himself like a big leaguer. It’s impressive.”
Royals rumblings
• Kris Bubic made his first spring start in two years on Sunday, after spending last spring still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The lefty is a front-runner for the Royals’ fifth starter competition and used his two innings Sunday to mix in all his pitches, which include a new sinker that he hopes helps neutralize lefties. Bubic also has two sliders, which he likes to call the “big slider” -- a slurve-like pitch with more horizontal movement -- and a “small slider” -- a tight gyro breaking ball that he sometimes also calls a cutter.
• The Royals view Jonathan Bowlan as a reliever this spring and will only build him up to two innings. With a fixed bullpen that includes veteran players and those without options, Bowlan’s one option remaining gives the Royals more flexibility to switch relievers in and out based on matchups for certain series. They also think the big righty’s stuff will tick up in short stints. Bowlan came out of the ‘pen in Triple-A Omaha in the second half last season and posted a 2.77 ERA across 26 innings, striking out 22 and walking only five.