By Wes Pruett
As the Royals trim their spring training roster, we learned, on Monday, of more moves. It was announced that the club would assign Jac Caglianone, and others, to minor league camps as Kansas City has finalized their 40-man roster. With this news, we now will try and project {have been saying since before Spring Training} where “Cags” could begin the 2025 season.
Swinging In Spring
One of the MLB’s major stories was Jac and his raw power from the plate. To further this, the former Florida Gator smashed the baseball as he went 9-17{.529} from the plate with 3 doubles, home runs, 5 walks, and three strikeouts in 17 appearances. In his initial spring training, Caglianone was invited to the major league camp and he made the most of it as his performances had fans clamoring to know which level they would see him start his career.
In analyzing the performances at the plate, most were in late-game situations meaning the caliber of pitching may not have been at the upper echelon such as the MLB level. With this, according to Craig Brown, the pitching faced in Arizona was more to the level of Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. The statistic of ‘Quality of opposing pitchers faced’ is a very telling one in baseball. In his appearances this spring, Jac has faced an average of 7.1 out of 10 which equates to the above-mentioned level of play.
Two points on this first, this is in no way any fault of Caglianone as he has only faced who has been on the mound at that point in the game. Secondly, considering what conference he played in college, the SEC, he may have already faced higher-level pitching in his time playing the game.
Where Will Jac Play First?
We have learned through the consistent coverage that there are levels to this. In reality, as talented as Caglionone is he will have much to learn about the higher levels of baseball. From the plate, we have discussed the level of pitchers faced and this will be closely analyzed from the Royals. While it is currently unclear where Caglionone will start, we believe it will be in Springdale, Arkansas with the NWA Naturals.
This level will allow him to work on his craft from the plate, and mound, as the Naturals staff features Larry Carter as a pitching coach. This, along with a new manager, sure feels as if this is the ideal start for the future star of Kansas City. With a stellar start, and some struggles from the Royals, we could see a promotion to Omaha quickly.
It is not clear yet where Caglianone will eventually be assigned, but it will likely be either Triple-A Omaha or Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
If he gets off to a good start, there will be pressure to get him up to the big leagues, especially if the Royals offense gets off to a slow start. The Royals already have Vinnie Pasquantino at first base, but he could DH on some days to get Caglianone in the lineup.
In closing, we are certain no matter what level Caglianone begins at the highlights will be exciting. We are also certain that the fans of the minor league teams will want to pay very close attention. The fans will need to be on top of team transactions, but, also the performance of the Royals, as this is a major factor in how players will be on the move.
We will have much more on the Royals, their minor league system, and Jac and the rest of the rosters. Stay tuned.
