Jac Caglianone: Up-And-Coming Dynasty Player

I guess all of the GMs in Major League Baseball got together and decided that this would be a good week to start calling up some of their top prospects.

The Astros added Jacob Melton to their roster, and the White Sox have decided Kyle Teel should actually stop wasting his talent in Triple-A and instead can start wasting it on a Chicago team that is on pace to lose 111 games (but at least that is better than the 121 they lost last year!)

Then there is Jac Caglianone. Drafted with the sixth overall pick last July, the Royals recalled him from the minors earlier this week and instantly slotted him into the lineup.

The move makes a ton of sense as the Royals have the fourth fewest runs scored in the majors, with only the juggernaut teams of Texas, Pittsburgh, and Colorado scoring fewer runs. The hope is for Caglianone to provide an instant spark to the offense.

Let’s dive in and see why the Royals think this will happen.

College and Pro Statistics

Road to the Show

Jac Caglianone put up ridiculous numbers at the University of Florida as a two-way star. As a hitter, he had a career slash line of .355/.447/.760, and as a junior, he slashed .419/.544/.875 with 35 homers and 72 RBI in only 66 games. He had more home runs than strikeouts (26) and walked 58 times as opposing teams tried to avoid him as much as possible.

On the mound, he made 34 starts over his sophomore and junior seasons, going 12-6 overall with a 4.55 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. He had a nice 10.1 K/9 ratio, but he also had a 6.4 BB/9 rate.

Caglianone has stated he wants to be a two-way player as a pro, but the Royals have used him as a hitter only because in the long run, that is what he is best at. He made it to the Royals in less than a year since being drafted because of his ability to hit the ball really hard and really far.

The Tools

• Hitting

The left-handed hitting Jac Caglianone is a solid hitter at the plate. He may not be a .300 hitter at this level, but he isn’t going to be a one-trick pony either, and be only a home run hitter. In 79 career games in the minors, he slashed .292/.358/.517 with a solid 20.3% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk rate.

His swing is relatively flat, allowing him to keep the bat in the strike zone for a long time and make contact. That is the good news. The bad news is that he has had a history of chasing the ball out of the strike zone. While at Florida, the top pitchers were able to take advantage of that tendency, but he has done a good job of cutting down on his chase rate in the minors.

When he does hit the ball, he hits it hard. His average EV at Triple-A this year was 93.8 mph with a max velocity of 113.6 mph. Caglianone is also adept at using the whole field. During his time in the minors this season, he pulled the ball 37.3% of the time, went up the middle 27.8%, and hit to the opposite field 34.8% of the time he put the ball in play.

• Power

The power is what has everyone drooling when it comes to Caglianone. He has top-of-the-scale power as he gets the most out of his 6-foot-5 frame. As a junior at Florida, he had a max velocity of 121.7 mph and followed that up with a 117.3 mph max EV with a wood bat in the Arizona Fall League.

Jac Caglianone has a wide stance and holds his hands relatively high, creating a lot of leverage in his swing. That leverage leads to his power. He hit 15 homers in 50 games between Double-A and Triple-A this season and had 75 homers in 165 career games a Florida.

The one aspect of his game he has to work on is lifting the ball more. Since he has a flat swing, he tends to put the ball on the ground as he had a groundball percentage of 43.3% during his time on the farm this year, with a fly ball percentage of 31.8% and a line drive percentage of 24.8%.

• Speed

Let’s be honest, you don’t want Caglianone on your roster because of his steals potential. If you did, you are going to be disappointed. He is not one who will clog up the bases, but he is a below-average runner who may steal a base here or there, but that is it.

The Verdict

It has not taken long for Jac Caglianone to fly through the Royals’ system. In fact, it took him less than a year since being drafted last year. Depending on what source you look at, his scouts grade his power as a 70 to 80. No matter what it really is, it shows just how much power Caglianone has and should produce at the MLB level.

He has all the tools to be a top homer run hitter while providing a solid batting average and OBP.

A first baseman and pitcher in college, the Royals started playing him in left and right field last year and continued to do that this year to give him more versatility. He will likely get some starts at first base, right field, and DH.

If it is not obvious by now, this is a player you want. If you already have him, fantastic. Keep him unless someone offers you Fort Knox for him. If you don’t have him, you’d better jump on the waiver wire and get him. He is currently owned in 65% of Yahoo leagues and 42% of ESPN leagues, with that percentage being an increase of 35.8% since his recall.