Kansas City Royals rookie Jac Caglianone has experienced a challenging start to his first season in Major League Baseball. However, he showcased his impressive hitting power on Wednesday, hitting a remarkable 466-foot home run over the batter’s eye against Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bailey Falter. This powerful shot, clocked at 110.8 mph off the bat, was significant in pushing the Royals ahead 3-0.
This homer marks Caglianone’s fourth in just 32 games and ranks as the 10th-longest home run in MLB this season. Among rookies, it’s the second-longest, trailing only Denzel Clarke’s 471-foot blast on July 4. It’s also notable as the 10th-longest home run recorded at Kauffman Stadium by Statcast.
Caglianone, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, entered the season with high expectations as a consensus top-100 prospect. Despite a successful run through Double-A and Triple-A, his transition to the big leagues has been rocky; he currently sits under the Mendoza line and would need a streak of good performances to raise his batting average to .200. It took him two weeks to register his first home run.
At just 22 years old, Caglianone has ample opportunity to develop his skills, and his underlying statistics suggest he may be hitting below his true potential. According to Baseball Savant, his expected batting average (xBA) and slugging percentage (xSLG) indicate he should have been hitting .249 and slugging .432 prior to Wednesday’s game, suggesting he’s faced some unfortunate batted-ball luck, reflected in a low .163 batting average on balls in play (BABIP).
While the Royals aim for improvement in their campaign, sitting at 45-48 and only 3.5 games behind a wild-card spot in the American League, there’s a sense of urgency regarding Caglianone’s performance as they weigh the potential of a rookie against the demands of winning games. Wednesday’s homer serves as a reminder of his capabilities, and fans will be watching closely to see if he can build on this showing in the days to come.