Jac Caglianone stays red hot with homer, two hits

Caglianone did his damage off of Gordon Graceffo in the fourth inning, with his 402-foot (110.0-mph EV) two-run blast increasing the Royals’ lead to 9-3. That would be his only hit in five at-bats on the night. For the season, the 23-year-old slugger is now hitting .266/.338/.439 with nine homers and 22 RBI.

It was a bad day for hamate bones in the American League Central on Saturday as both Pasquantino and Guardians’ third baseman José Ramírez fractured theirs while swinging the bat. The 28-year-old slugger is expected to miss at least four-to-six weeks. John Rave was recalled from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move on Sunday. Jac Caglianone is expected to see the bulk of the action at first base while Pasquantino is shelved.

Caglianone singled during the Royals’ rally in the fourth inning and ultimately scored on an RBI knock by Kameron Misner. He also started the sixth inning with a single but was quickly erased on a double play ball. With his two-hit attack, the 23-year-old slugger is now hitting .279/.351/.457 on the season with eight homers, 19 RBI and three stolen bases on the season.

This was a great back and forth game with Caglianone in the middle of a good chunk of the action. That’s easy to say when a player has four hits, but Caglianone doubled and then scored the first run, drove home the second, scored the go-ahead in the seventh, and singled in the 10th which would’ve drove home another if the Royals weren’t trailing by two and playing it safe. Suddenly, Caglianone has a .275 batting average and .802 OPS on the season and is hitting .360 over his last 15 games.

Caglianone also stole a base, and he also singled and added a walk for good measure. Both homers were tape-measure shots and came off Nathan Eovaldi, and it gives the 23-year-old eight homers and 18 RBI on the campaign. Caglianone has massive offensive upside, and while it hasn’t always been on display, the improvement he’s made in 2026 has been readily apparent.

Salvador Perez (thumb) and Jac Caglianone (shoulder) are also back in Kansas City’s lineup after missing time over the weekend. The Royals made the decision to pull Witt from Sunday’s series finale after his right knee soreness got worse during the contest, but he appears to have checked out fine after undergoing further evaluation. The 25-year-old franchise cornerstone has the green light to return, which is a massive relief for the Royals and fantasy managers as well.

The 23-year-old slugger was removed from Saturday’s game due to soreness in his shoulder that he suffered from running into the wall on Friday night. He’ll get Sunday off as a precautionary measure as well. Tyler Tolbert will start in his place in right field and will bat ninth against Twins’ left-hander Connor Prielipp.

Caglianone was dealing with some soreness after running into the wall shoulder first during Friday’s game. “He’s just a little sore,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We don’t think it’s anything structural.” Lane Thomas will likely play right field if Caglianone can’t on Sunday.

Not great. Caglianone will undergo further evaluation, and likely imaging, to determine the severity of the issue. MLB.com’s Anne Rogers notes that Caglianone appeared to suffer the injury when he crashed into the wall in foul territory down the right-field line during Friday’s series opener. The 23-year-old slugger was 0-for-1 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter during the fourth inning of Saturday’s contest. He’s been swinging a hot bat recently, hitting .381 (8-for-21) with one homer, four RBI and one steal over his last seven games. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Caglianone had the best day offensively for the Royals, starting with a double to drive in a run in the first inning. After drawing a walk in the fourth, he singled and scored in the ninth. The 23-year-old outfielder is off to a good start in June, with multiple hits in three of his five games. On the season, he’s slashing .251/.327/.405 with six homers, 21 runs scored, and 15 RBI across 217 plate appearances.