Jac

Caglianone

Caglianone had a solid day at the plate, reaching three times against the Brewers. His single in the second inning was one of the hardest hit batted balls this season, coming off the bat at 116.1 mph. He then walked in the fourth inning, then knocked his second hit of the game in the sixth, this one just 106.1 mph. The 23-year-old slugger is 8-for-21 (.381) so far while still looking for his first homer and RBI.

The biggest question for Caglianone entering the season was whether his BABIP would normalize after he posted an outlandishly low .172 mark over 62 games during his rookie campaign last year. The 23-year-old slugger put three batted balls in play with exit velocities over 100 mph in this one, resulting in a trio of hits, including a 110.1-mph double against Twins ace Joe Ryan. One of the more popular late-round sleepers in fantasy drafts this spring, Caglianone is still searching for his first homer, but is hitting .357 (5-for-14) through five games.

Caglianone came off the bench during Thursday’s season opener against the Braves with veteran southpaw Chris Sale on the mound. The 23-year-old former top prospect was one of the more popular middle-round fantasy sleepers in drafts this spring but he’s probably going to keep sitting against tougher left-handed starters. The other notable change for Kansas City is Carter Jensen moving up to the fifth spot after hitting eighth on Opening Day.

LHP Chris Sale is on the mound, so the Royals have opted to bat righty Lane Thomas third and place Starling Marte in right field. Caglianone only started 12 games against a left-handed pitcher last year, so this isn’t a total surprise, but it’s disappointing that he’ll apparently have to earn his way into those situations. The full lineup for the Royals is: 3B Maikel Garcia, SS Bobby Witt, Thomas, C Salvador Perez, 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Marte, 2B Jonathan India, LF Isaac Collins and DH Carter Jensen.

Perhaps the most incredible thing about Italy’s win tonight is the top five hitters in the lineup combined to go 0-for-22. It was Kyle Teel, Caglianone and Sam Antonacci from the sixth-through-eighth spots providing all of the offense, which each hitting a homer. The win moves Italy to 3-0 in Pool B play ahead of its game with Mexico on Wednesday. If Italy wins the game, it wins the pool and Team USA advances as the runnerup. If Mexico wins, it sets up a tiebreaker between the three clubs, with the two teams with the fewest runs allowed advancing. Ironically, Team USA’s furious late-inning comeback tonight probably hurt its chances of advancing, just because Italy churned through all of its best relievers and its bullpen will be lacking Wednesday.

It’s presumably a major-league deal for Marte, pending a physical. He heads to Kansas City as a right-handed complement for right fielder Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen at DH. He won’t syphon off enough playing time to make a significant fantasy impact but he represents a decent insurance policy in case either former top prospect struggles this season. The 37-year-old veteran outfielder spent the past four years with the Mets and slashed .270/.335/.410 with nine homers and seven steals in 98 games this past season in a part-time role.

The 23-year-old slugger started the scoring in the slugfest with an RBI single in the third inning. He then advanced on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by Carter Jensen. Caglianone then delivered a two-run double in the fifth that increased the Royals’ lead to 5-0 before scoring on an RBI double off the bat of Michael Massey. Despite the struggles in his debut, Caglianone possesses massive power upside heading into the 2026 campaign, especially with the Royals moving in and lowering their fences.

Caglianone’s first spring round-tripper left his bat at 115.2 mph and traveled 460 feet. That’ll work. The 23-year-old former top prospects prodigious over-the-fence power potential remains undeniable and he should benefit tremendously from Kansas City’s decision to make Kauffman Stadium more hitter-friendly by altering their outfield dimensions. He doesn’t strike out a ton for a power-hitter and a few additional fly balls would make a huge difference. He’s poised to become one of the buzziest fantasy sleepers of the spring, largely because a realistic 30-homer floor in an everyday role tends to capture attention — especially if he continues scorching baseballs in the Cactus League and turning projection into something that feels increasingly tangible.

“We want a neutral ballpark where if you hit a ball well, it should be a home run,” said Royals general manager J.J. Picollo. According to Stacast’s Park Factors, Kauffman Stadium ranked 6th in baseball as an offensive park. However, this ranking was largely due to its having the second-largest outfield in baseball, which promotes doubles and triples. It ranked 25th in baseball as a home run park, which is the fourth-lowest mark of any stadium that has been in use for at least the last three seasons. The team will keep centerfield at 410 feet, but will shorten the power alleys from 389 feet to 379 feet, and “the fences will continue on that path, 9 to 10 feet shorter, nearly all the way to the corners.” This will not only help established power hitters like Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez hit more home runs, but should be a nice boost for young players with plus power like Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. However, batting average hitters with fringe power, like Isaac Collins and Jonathan India, may see a slight regression with a smaller outfield for extra base hits to fall in.

Morosi mentions the Red Sox and Angels as teams with extra outfielders. Maybe the worst decision made by any potential contender going into last season was the Royals choosing not to upgrade their outfield, and they ended up getting a .639 OPS from their left fielders, a .645 OPS from their center fielders and a .615 OPS from their right fielders. They need to add at least one starter this winter and maybe two, and they still have to figure out whether Jac Caglianone, who belongs at first base, can be adequate in right.