Jac Caglianone rehab, Cole Ragans throwing, old friends thriving

The Kansas City Royals continue their uphill battle to reach the postseason, which may’ve hit a snag this weekend, after they dropped their weekend three-game set to the Minnesota Twins, but got back on track with a Monday victory over the Washington Nationals.

The Royals faithful will likely have their primary focus set on the team’s critical current 10-game homestand which will see some very beatable teams come to town.

That being said, there’s some other key headlines outside the upcoming matchups that Royals fans ought to be aware of, whether that be injury news or some updates on old friends in new places.

Royals News: Jac Caglianone set to begin rehab assignment

After Royals broadcaster Joel Goldberg reported on Friday that Caglinaone was set to start his rehab assignment this week, the ball got rolling on thinking about life with the rookie phenom back in the major league fold.

And on Tuesday, the Royals officially announced that Caglianone would be on his way back to Omaha to start said rehab assignment after landing on the 10-day IL on July 27 with a hamstring strain.

This isn’t Caglianone’s first rodeo as a Storm Chaser this season, as he made a relatively brief stop there in the grand scheme of things during his meteoric rise to the majors ahead of his June 3 big league call-up. In 12 Triple-A games this year, he slashed .319/.370/.723 with six home runs and 13 RBI.

The Royals will hope some of that minor league magic rubs off on him during this rehab stint, as he hasn’t nearly been what they would’ve hoped for after promoting him. In 41 games with Kansas City this year, the 22-year-old slugger is slashing just .147/.205/.280 with five home runs and 10 RBI.

Royals News: Cole Ragans set to throw first bullpen session

Keeping the positive injury news flowing, the Royals moved one step closer to getting their ace back in the fold.

According to a Monday report from Anne Rogers of MLB.com, Cole Ragans is set to throw his first bullpen session on Tuesday.

Ragans hit the injured list for the second time this season on June 11 (retroactive June 8) with a left rotator cuff strain and has been shelved ever since.

Amid his two injuries, he hasn’t looked himself a majority of the time he’s been able to take the mound this season. While he may still be striking guys out at an elite 36.4%, his stat line has not seemed to really benefit from that. In 10 starts this season, Ragans is throwing to a 5.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP this year.

Hopefully, a healthy return is all it takes to get Ragans back to his Cy Young caliber self, as the Royals will need all hands on deck for what is shaping out to be a tightly contested AL Wild Card race down the stretch.

Royals News: Carlos Hernández and Joey Wiemer have strong starts in new homes

Finally we wrap up with a report on some old friends thriving in their new respective homes.

Starting at the major league level, we have reliever Carlos Hernández, who after being cut from the Royals at the end Spring Training has bounced from the Philadelphia Phillies, to the Detroit Tigers, to now the Cleveland Guardians.

And so far so good for him in the Cleveland, as through his first two outings he’s surrendered just one walk in 2.0 innings pitched, meaning he’s still sporting a perfect 0.00 ERA and just a 0.50 WHIP.

This is a major contrast from his combined season totals, as through 38.1 innings split between Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland, he holds a 6.34 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and .286 BAA.

Then there’s Joey Wiemer, who after being DFA’d be the Royals landed with the Miami Marlins off waivers last Monday.

And in his first week with the Marlins Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville, Wiemer made quite the first impression, taking home Triple-A hitter of the week honors for the International League.

In his first five games in the Marlins’ system, Wiemer has slashed .471/.609/1.000 with two homers, nine RBI and an astronomically high 307 wRC+. This is certainly a polar opposite performance to what he was producing in Omaha, as through 72 games as a Storm Chaser in 2025, he slashed just .182/.291/.312 with nine homers, 38 RBI and a 61 wRC+.