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New York Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Jac Caglianone adjusting to outfield in Triple A, pleased with Royals' development plan
OMAHA, Neb. — The clock is apparently ticking on Jac Caglianone's time in the minor leagues. But after a one-week power display in Triple A, the Kansas City Royals' top prospect is not itching for a call-up to the big leagues. Caglianone, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, was promoted to Omaha from Double-A Northwest Arkansas on May 18. He's hit five home runs in six games with the Triple-A Storm Chasers, including shots of 441 and 459 feet Friday and Sunday in Salt Lake City. Advertisement Exit velocities on all five of Caglianone's home runs in the past week were measured at 107 mph or faster. He hit nine homers in 175 plate appearances in Double A. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound former two-time All-American at Florida has driven in 53 runs in 56 games this season. 'It's been kind of a whirlwind, if you step back and take a look at it,' he said Tuesday ahead of his home Triple-A debut at Omaha's Werner Park against knuckle baller Cory Lewis of the Minnesota Twins' affiliate, the St. Paul Saints. JEFFREY ALAN CAGLIANONE 💪 — Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) May 25, 2025 Caglianone's hot start in the minors has stoked excitement in Kansas City. The 22-year-old slugger has noticed. 'It makes me feel pretty good,' he said. 'I haven't even been there yet, and I can already feel the love from the people of Kansas City. So I'm super thankful for it. Hopefully it stays that way.' As for a likely summer promotion to K.C., Caglianone said he's not worried about the timing. 'It'll happen when it happens,' he said. Caglianone added that he appreciates the organizational leadership and Royals players like Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. They reached out to Caglianone with words of encouragement when he was promoted. 'I do think they have my best interest at heart,' Caglianone said. 'It alleviates the pressure of the 'when.' I just take it day by day.' The Royals sent Rusty Kuntz, special assistant to the general manager, to Omaha to aid Caglianone in his development as an outfielder. After playing first base and pitching in college, Caglianone has worked at first this year while also getting time in left and right field. He could help Kansas City in the outfield this year. The Royals last week designated veteran outfielder Hunter Renfroe for assignment. Advertisement In 2010, Kuntz notably assisted Alex Gordon in his move from third base to left field, where he won eight Gold Gloves and helped Kansas City win the 2015 World Series. As Caglianone thrives in the minors, the Royals have struggled offensively despite a 29-26 start. They've hit 33 home runs, the fewest in the major leagues, and scored 3.3 runs per game, the third fewest. General manager J.J. Picollo told reporters Monday in Kansas City that the Royals will not rush Caglianone. 'It's not fair to any player, whether it's Jac Caglianone or whoever,' Picollo said, 'when a team is maybe scuffling offensively, to try to put it on him and hope he's going to come save the day. The best way to break any player into the major leagues is to try to bring them up when the team's hot offensively, scoring some runs.' Picollo said the Royals want to see Triple-A pitchers force Caglianone to make adjustments. 'I don't want to put a timetable on it, but we want to see him for a little bit,' Picollo said. 'This first week was great, but we certainly weren't saying when he went to Triple A, 'Have a good first week and we'll bring him to Kansas City.''
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone promoted to Triple-A Omaha
Kansas City Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone is one step closer to making his major-league debut. After starting his season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Caglianone is joining the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. Welcome to Omaha, Jac ‼️ Top Royals prospect Jac Caglianone is the newest Storm Chaser! [image or embed] — Omaha Storm Chasers (@ May 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM Caglianone, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft after starring as a two-way player for Florida, hit .322/.394/.553 with nine homers and 43 RBIs in 38 games for the Naturals. The 22-year-old has been used exclusively as a position player so far this year, logging most of his time at first base but also appearing in seven games in the corner outfield spots, six of them in right field. He came into this season ranked No. 60 in Keith Law's preseason top 100 MLB prospects list but has significantly improved over his pro debut in 2024, when he hit .241/.302/.388 in 29 games for High-A Quad Cities and .236/.300/.449 in 21 games in the Arizona Fall League. Law believes it's only a matter of time before Caglianone gets the call to the big leagues. Advertisement Law notes that Caglianone has made significant changes since last season. 'Caglianone has seen some structural changes. He's not pitching any more, which is fantastic for letting him focus on hitting, and he's playing right field now, which hasn't been a challenge so far and makes better use of his athleticism — but he's also tightened up his approach at the plate just enough that he's become a much more dangerous hitter already,' Law said. 'He's chasing stuff out of the zone a little less often and it's driving these improved results even against better-quality pitching. He's always had the elite, grade-80 (on a 20-80 scouting scale) power, but he's hitting more and that's going to mean more light-tower homers in games.' Caglianone is likely to make his Triple-A debut in Salt Lake City on Tuesday when the Storm Chasers begin their six-game series against the Bees. Caglianone was arguably the most well-known player in last year's MLB Draft class after a standout three-year career at Florida that saw him hit .355/.447/.760 with 75 homers in 165 games and make 34 starts, posting a 5.10 ERA with 170 strikeouts in 148 innings. The Gators reached the College World Series in each of the last two seasons. The 6-foot-5 left-handed hitter and thrower could be a dangerous addition to the middle of the Royals' lineup later this year. Kansas City is currently last in the major leagues in home runs and 27th in baseball in runs scored. Despite their offensive struggles and dealing with injuries to their starting rotation with Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans currently on the injured list, the Royals are 26-22, 5 1/2 games back of the first-place Detroit Tigers in the competitive American League Central but currently tied with the Cleveland Guardians for the second wild-card spot.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Pockets of flooding possible overnight, some strong storms
Flood Watch in effect for most of Central Alabama until 7 PM Monday… Tonight: Scattered showers and heavy storms will continue drifting north through central Alabama, becoming less numerous after midnight as temperatures fall into the lower 60s. A strong to severe storm is possible for areas south and west of Birmingham. Monday: While most of us should start the day dry and mostly cloudy, scattered showers and storms will reignite after lunch. A strong to severe storm can't be ruled out mainly along and east of the I-65 corridor on Monday afternoon/evening. Highs will be in the low to mid 70s. This Week: Our rainy pattern continues into Tuesday with another round of mainly afternoon showers and storms expected. This round will be a bit less numerous and storms aren't expected to become very strong. Nonetheless, plan on keeping the umbrella around until we reach midweek. This is when our rainy pattern will trade out with a hot and dry pattern for the second half of the week. A ridge of high pressure will creep northward out of the Gulf, allowing our temperatures to soar into the upper 80s and low 90s by Thursday and Friday. In addition to this, the muggy air will stick around so it may actually feel more like the low/mid 90s for some of us, especially on Friday. As the ridge breaks back down, showers and storms will enter back into the forecast on Friday night and on into the weekend. These storms will be working with a little more wind shear, leading to concern for perhaps some damaging winds for a few storms. This is something that will become more clear as we move through the week. Be sure to follow the CBS 42 Storm Team: Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes, Meteorologist Alex Puckett, and Meteorologist Jacob Woods. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
