Royal Scrolls: Caglianone Comps and a Weekend in the Desert

Sal slugs his way past Gordo, context for BWJ's 'down' year, Erceg rounds into form

Photo courtesy of AP/Lindsey Wasson

Royal Scrolls is a recap of the week so far and a preview of the weekend ahead, along with news, nuggets and notes.

If you feel like Jac Caglianone is the only Royal anyone writes about these days, you’re not alone. Fact is, as the season continues spinning out of control entering July, the young lefty is the (non-trade related) story of the summer in Kansas City.

From the “wow” moments in Spring Training to his destruction of Double-A and quick trip through the final stage of the minor leagues in Omaha, Cags has been the main topic of discussion for four or more months.

Now with more than 100 plate appearances under his belt, the calls for Caglianone to be promoted to the Big Leagues have turned to cries for help and, in some cases, curiosity over whether his time would be better spent in Triple-A.

I’m firmly in the camp of keeping him in MLB and figuring things out on the fly, not in the least bit due to the lack of options to take his at-bats instead. We need only look around the league at two other fast-rising prospects from the 2024 draft class who took some time to settle in: Houston’s Cam Smith and the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz.

Consider their respective production through 26 games, where Caglianone is now after a month with the Royals:

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