KANSAS CITY -- Despite a 12-10 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, the Royals left Kauffman Stadium with a series win over their Interstate 70 rivals and they witnessed a continued breakout of one of their young sluggers.
Jac Caglianone hit four home runs in three games this series, including two on Sunday afternoon, and each one was impressive in its own right:
Thursday: Statcast-projected 402 feet to left-center field
Friday: 404 feet to left-center field
Sunday: 444 feet to right-center field
Sunday: 426 feet to right-center field
Put it together? Strong opposite-field power, massive pull power and 1,676 feet of home runs. Caglianone is scorching hot right now, with a .379/.468/.742 slash line this month.
“He’s pretty locked in,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s really impressive power to all fields, which we know he has, but when you put it into play, it’s really impressive.”
Caglianone and the Royals’ offense did what they could Sunday to make it a game despite the seven-run deficit they found themselves in after the top of the second inning, with starter Stephen Kolek recording just five outs and allowing nine runs on nine hits and one walk.
The Royals had the potential tying run at second base when the game ended, wrapping up a good series from an offense that scored 30 runs in three games. In June, Kansas City is averaging 5.8 runs per game -- which ranks in the top four of MLB with Sunday games ongoing -- compared to 4.1 in March/April (23rd most in MLB) and 3.4 in May (28th).
The entire lineup has contributed to that, but Caglianone has been at the forefront. And it stems from better swing decisions. His strikeouts are down, with a 26% rate this month compared to 33.3 in March/April and 28.1% in May. His swing and miss is down, too, with a 25.8% whiff percentage compared to 34.7 and 32.2 in the first two months, respectively.
Caglianone has always scorched the ball -- his 56.8 hard-hit percentage ranks in the 98th percentile of MLB -- but his at-bats have been much better of late. He doesn’t seem overmatched when he does make a bad swing decision; the at-bat is not over after one pitch. He’s understanding how pitchers are attacking him, and he’s not getting sped up throughout an at-bat.
“Say a quick cuss word and move on,” Caglianone said. “Screw it, it’s over with. Also, if you know you made a bad swing decision, seven or eight times out of 10, the pitcher thinks he can get you on it again. So take the free ball after that. That’s the cat and mouse to it.”
In addition to his homers, Caglianone also took two walks on Sunday. He also pointed out his strikeout in the sixth inning against lefty JoJo Romero to say that he’s still making adjustments. Caglianone was looking for a sweeper on the first pitch, but he got a sinker instead and fouled it off. Then, he took another sinker for a called strike before chasing the sweeper.
“I think I went about it a little bit poorly,” Caglianone said. “But overall, I’ve just been better with getting guys up. Not being too susceptible to spin down. I still go down there. It’s not like I’m perfect. But raising the sights a little bit has been the biggest help.”
Caglianone thinks something clicked for him when the team was in Texas at the end of May. The Royals got swept by the Rangers (May 29-31) at Globe Life Field and were mired in a long losing streak. Enough is enough, Caglianone said.
“Doing it too many times and the pitchers doubling up on it and me finally not swinging the second time,” Caglianone said. “That’s probably when it clicked.”
It couldn’t have clicked at a better time, either. Caglianone has always been a crucial part of this season and the future for Kansas City, but this month, he was moved up in the lineup to the No. 3 hole and from right field to first base with Vinnie Pasquantino’s right hamate bone fracture. The Royals are getting an idea of what Caglianone in the middle of their order could look like moving forward.
The same goes for Carter Jensen, who also homered Sunday -- an opposite-field blast against Romero in the sixth. Jensen has a career-high 12-game hit streak since June 6, during which he’s slashing .375/.407/.708.
Jensen and Caglianone have powered the offense this month. That bodes well for the Royals, and the two are having a lot of fun doing it.
“I can go oppo, too,” Jensen told Caglianone after crossing the plate and celebrating with his teammate in the on-deck circle.