Nearly three months after the highly publicized major league debut of Kansas City Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone, the month of September could represent a critical turning point.
Caglianone struggled a ton in his first 41 games as a big-leaguer, batting .147 with an OPS of .485. Those are numbers typically seen from pitchers before the universal designated hitter, not future middle-of-the-order sluggers.
As the team’s preseason No. 1 prospect, the Royals clearly intended to give Caglianone a long leash. However, since he hit the injured list with a hamstring strain on July 23, the team looks a whole lot different.
Caglianone is returning to the lineup after a successful rehab stint with Triple-A Omaha ahead of the team’s three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels that begins on Tuesday. But how oftn he’ll play, now that trade deadline acquisition Mike Yastrzemski occupies his position of right field, remains to be seen.
On Monday, Jackson Stone of MLB.com assessed Caglianone’s role, noting that it is highly unlikely the 22-year-old would start virtually every game, as he did before the injury.
“For Caglianone, his arrival back to the big league club (was expected) when the rosters expanded, but his everyday role was expected to diminish,” wrote Stone. “He’s been raking in Triple-A, though, evidenced by a .385 average with five homers and 16 RBIs in 16 games during his rehab assignment — including a homer Saturday that traveled 451 feet, according to the team.”
“The Royals already have four left-handed-hitting bats that can play the outfield. With Perez now expected to get more time at DH, that could also limit the amount of time Caglianone is in the lineup. But his power potential is too great to stay away from.”
Certainly, the Royals anticipate giving Caglianone many more chances to win a full-time role in 2026 and beyond. But it’s all hands on deck for the season’s final month, and Kansas City just has to hope Caglianone can both prove himself and continue developing despite more days on the bench.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
