Jac Caglianone could defy this historical trend with KC Royals

Open up a dictionary. Turn to the word "prospect." What do you see? It isn't an 18-year-old draftee, an international free agent, or their future, polished selves knocking on the door of The Show. Rather, Merriam-Webster says a prospect is "something that is awaited or expected" or "the act of looking forward." If that is the case, KC Royals fans will be closely following the prospect of slugger Jac Caglianone for years to come after the 2024 MLB Draft.

Jac Caglianone's ceiling with KC Royals seems limitless.

The Florida alum fell outside the top five this past weekend, a shocking development for many draft pundits. Kansas City, luckily, sat sixth overall and made the easy decision to select Caglianone. While Caglianone is undeniably a talent worthy of that draft selection, the real mystery begins after he signs with Kansas City.

How will that talent manifest? Will it be solely a left-handed bat with 70-grade power? Will it be a fastball-first pitcher with promising secondary offerings? One or the other seems most likely, but there is an outcome Caglianone should be able to pursue: both.

"The plan is to build off of what I did in the past couple of years in college...Really just developing on the pitching side of things as well as the offensive side of things... I’m very thankful they’re giving me the opportunity to do both. I won’t let them down."

Jac Caglianone

Caglianone undoubtedly made himself a household name with his bat, bashing 68 home runs for the Gators across his last two seasons. Every swing has a chance to deposit a ball 400-plus feet over the right field fence, or even 516 feet, to be precise.