Royals Banking on Jac Caglianone Bounce-Back After Brutal 2025 Debut
The Kansas City Royals are gearing up for another AL Central battle with Detroit and Cleveland this season. After missing the postseason fight in 2025, they’re counting on their offense to take the next step.
Jac Caglianone might be the key to that leap.
Keith Law of The Athletic thinks the 6-foot-4 lefty slugger is primed for a breakout 2026 after what Law calls an “awful” rookie season.
“I feel like everyone and their brother is calling for a Caglianone breakout this year, and why not, given how incredibly hard he hits the ball and how well he hit everything up through Triple-A.”
There’s good reason for all that optimism. Caglianone’s MLB debut was brutal – he managed just a .157 average with a .532 OPS in 2025. Those numbers would sink most prospects’ stock, but Caglianone’s underlying tools tell a different story.
The way I see it, that MLB struggle looks more like growing pains than a true reflection of his ability.
Before reaching Kansas City last year, Caglianone was raking in the minors. Across 66 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2025, he posted a .337 average with a 1.025 OPS. That’s the hitter the Royals thought they were getting.
This spring, he’s flashing that potential again. In just 15 at-bats, Caglianone is sporting a 1.283 OPS with a .400 batting average. Small sample? Sure. But it’s consistent with everything he’s shown when he wasn’t adjusting to big league pitching.
What makes this different is Caglianone’s track record suggests the 2025 MLB numbers were the outlier, not the norm. His minor league production, spring training performance, and even his WBC showing all point to a hitter who can impact games at the highest level.
Law isn’t alone in expecting big things. Caglianone has become something of a consensus breakout pick heading into 2026, and that’s not just wishful thinking from Royals fans.
The advanced metrics back up the optimism. When Caglianone makes contact, he hits the ball incredibly hard. That’s the foundation every great hitter needs.
Now that he’s had a full season to adjust to MLB pitching, the pieces seem to be falling into place. If his spring production carries over into the regular season, the Royals might have found their missing offensive catalyst.
All things considered, Kansas City’s playoff hopes could hinge on whether their young slugger can turn potential into production. Based on everything we’ve seen outside of those initial MLB struggles, that seems like a pretty good bet.
