Jac Caglianone wasn't the only top draft pick the KC Royals promoted Sunday

Not unexpectedly, and just as it has since the Kansas City Royals chose him with their first pick in last year's amateur draft, the latest Jac Caglianone news pushed everything else Royals-related to the back burner Sunday. After weeks of speculation and fan anxiety, the club moved Caglianone one step closer to the majors when they promoted him from Double-A Northwest Arkansas to Triple-A Omaha.

That Caglianone grabbed the Sunday spotlight isn't surprising. He is, after all, the club's No. 1 minor league prospect per MLB Pipeline, and his big bat needs to be tested in Triple-A. And many believe he's the in-house solution to the Royals' low-scoring offense.

But Caglianone wasn't the only top KC draft pick to advance an important step Sunday. The organization also promoted Frank Mozzicato, the southpaw phenom they took with their first selection in the 2021 draft. A member of the High-A Quad Cities River Bandits when the day began, he's moving up to Northwest Arkansas, where he'll presumably join the Naturals for Tuesday's opener of their six-game series with Arkansas.

The bump-up represents a vindication of sorts for Mozzicato and the Royals.

Frank Mozzicato joined Jac Caglianone on the KC Royals' promotion list Sunday

Understanding why Mozzicato moving up a notch is a vindication requires considering the bulk of his minor league career. He didn't receive a future hero's welcome when the Royals grabbed him with their first pick of the 2021 draft. Yes, he drew deserved praise for the dominant high school career he'd just finished, but even the four consecutive no-hitters he threw as a senior didn't prevent the cascade of criticism that struck the Royals for spending their top pick on a prep hurler and passing on Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker, who was still available when KC went on the clock for the seventh overall selection.

And Mozzicato did little to dissuade his detractors for the first three seasons of his minor league career. Control problems and concerning ERAs — 4.30 in the Arizona Complex League in 2022, 4.65 in a 2023 season he divided between Single-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities (including 7.12 over nine starts for the River Bandits) — all compounded the disappointment of Mozzicato losing 11 of his first 14 minor league decisions. He improved his ERA to 3.45 at Quad Cities last year, but he still lost twice as many games (10) as he won (five).

This year, though, the still-young Mozzicato (he won't turn 22 until mid-June) is well on his way to proving the doubters and naysayers wrong. He remained at Quad Cities to start the season and after seven starts owns the envy of minor league pitchers — a spectacular 1.24 ERA. He's pitched less than five innings only once, and the seven strikeouts he recorded against Dayton May 15 gave him 37 in 36.1 frames. He boasts a good 1.02 WHIP and is holding opposing hitters to a .121 average.

Most of his numbers are, to say the least, much improved this season. Only the 22 walks he's issued are a concern, so expect improving his control to be a prime mission for Northwest Arkansas pitching coach Larry Carter and assistant pitching coach Sam Eades.

Where does KC Royals prospect Frank Mozzicato go from here?

How fast Mozzicato, who MLB Pipeline ranks 12th-best among KC prospects, gets to Triple-A Omaha depends much on his control. The 14.5 BB% he's posted twice — first at Columbia two seasons ago, and again at Quad Cities last year — are too high but tied for the best of his short career. Mozzicato can conceivably move up to Triple-A with his control still not in check, but any inability to significantly reduce the number of free passes he issues won't bode well for a major league future.

Look, then, for the Royals to stay the deliberate course they've taken thus far with Mozzicato. Like Caglianone, he's full of potential; unlike Caglianone, though, he probably won't see Kansas City this season.