Jac Caglianone strengthens case for Royals return with 451-foot Triple-A moonshot

The Kansas City Royals will have to make some decisions regarding their active roster as August winds down and the season’s final month of September begins on Monday.

Their MLB roster will grow from 26 to 28 and the Royals will have to ensure they make the right moves amid their current push for an AL Wild Card spot.

One name in the Triple-A ranks that’s been making a making a strong case to be one of those two supplementary names is none other than their young phenom Jac Caglinaone, who’s currently on rehab assignment with the Storm Chasers.

And after his latest highlight reel performance on Saturday night, the 22-year-old continued to strengthen his case to return to the Royals’ lineup.

Jac Caglianone’s 455-foot blast helps his case for a major league return

Saturday night wasn’t the first time Caglianone has turned heads while on his current rehab assignment. Entering the contest, he was slashing .371/.458/1.103 with four homers, 13 RBI and a 188 wRC+ in 15 games.

However, when Caglianone stepped up in the third inning and launched his fifth homer of the stint in dramatic 450+ foot fashion, it didn’t simply mark a three-run blast for his fifth homer and 14th, 15th and 16th RBI.

You see, Cags’ latest show of power comes just a day after GM J.J. Picollo reportedly stated that the club had yet to decide who will be called up when rosters expand on Sept. 1, according to MLB.com’s Jackson Stone.

Considering his rehab assignment conveniently ends when the active roster grows, it seemed like almost a forgone conclusion that Caglianone would be the hitter that the Royals brass called upon to fill that role. After all, they did seem to rush him to the major leagues less than a year after he was drafted.

That being said, as Stone also pointed out in his tweet, the Royals have less of a need for outfield help at the moment with how well their trade deadline additions of Mike Yastrzemski, Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier have looked since joining the squad.

Pair with that the fact that, after some comments from manager Matt Quatraro earlier this month, the Royals seem to be in no rush to rush Caglianone back to the majors for a second time, as perhaps they may be regretting their decision to bring him up so quickly in the first place.

As good as he’s looked, Caglianone will still have to live with the reality that after his first Triple-A breakout, he went on to post just a .147/.205/.280 slash line with a 29 wRC+ in the majors.

All that to say, he can’t change the past. All he can do is put his best foot forward in an attempt to earn the Royals trust amid a crucial postseason run.

And to his credit, he’s done exactly that.