Royals AL ROY Candidate Jac Caglianone has Breakout Game
Pictured: 2025 Bowman Chrome #CPA-JCA Jac Caglianone Refractor Auto /499
Playing 162-game schedule, there are several ebbs and flows to an MLB season. Hot starts that lead to an All-Star selection can turn into bad seasons come the stretch run. For younger players, especially rookies, seeing pitchers for the first time, and hitters, can add to the difficulty of settling in at the plate or on the mound. One of the players seemingly making that rookie turn fulfilling the hype in a hurry is Jac Caglianone.
Caglianone was a masher in college for the Florida Gators tying an NCAA record with nine homers in nine consecutive games. The big man (6-5, 250), pitched for the Gators, played first, and is a fit in the outfield playing right in the Bigs.
The 22-year-old lefty was the sixth pick in the 2024 MLB Draft getting early pro swings in the High-A Midwest League with the Quad Cities River Bandits last year. Starting the year at Double-A with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the Royals moved Caglianone to Triple-A in mid-May giving him a call up in June.
The MLB debut was on June 3. Five days later, Caglianone had a game to remember going 4-for-4 in a 7-5 win against the Chicago White Sox. The three singles and a double busted Caglianone out of a 2-for-21 slump to start his MLB career.
Caglianone registered his first career hit on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Collectors intently following Rookie of the Year favorites, Caglianone is a leading candidate, especially in Las Vegas with +1500 odds. Other top rookies in the AL to watch are Yankees LF Jasson Dominguez, Royals SP Noah Cameron, White Sox SP Shane Smith, and Boston Red Sox 3B Marcelo Mayer.
In the NL, a pair of catchers, Drake Baldwin for the Atlanta Braves and Agustin Ramirez for the Florida Marlins have top Vegas odds for ROY.
