The Jac Caglianone watch begins now for the KC Royals

The biggest KC Royals prospect storyline since they drafted Bobby Witt Jr., and before that Bubba Starling, is about to get even more interesting.

Jac Caglianone, the Florida phenom the club snared with its first, and sixth overall, pick in this year's MLB Draft, has signed. The Royals announced the move Wednesday morning. As is their custom, the Royals have not disclosed the amount of his deal.

Now, the pressure is officially on Caglianone, who will soon make his professional debut in the Arizona Complex League, or perhaps with Columbia, the Royals' Single-A club. As of this writing, Kansas City hadn't publicly announced their top pick's first destination.

But he'll be under baseball's proverbial prospect microscope wherever he ends up.

Jac Caglianone may be the most unique KC Royals prospect ever

What makes Caglianone so special is, of course, his well-documented and well-celebrated status as a two-way collegiate star. That the Royals reportedly plan to develop him in that same vein — at least for now, they don't intend to take him off the mound — makes it easy to see why he'll attract more attention than any other KC draftee since Witt. Whether he'll thrive like Witt has, or stumble and fall out of the game like Starling did, remains to be seen.

Neither former Kansas City top draft choice was a two-way player like Caglianone, which means he'll almost certainly find himself probed more often and more intensely by media than Witt or Starling were when they began their pro careers. Expect requests for interviews to bombard the Royals' major and minor league communications staffs. He is, after all, perhaps the most unique and immediately interesting player to join the organization.

The inevitable comparisons to Dodger two-way star Shohei Ohtani, unfair as they may be considering the rugged road Caglianone must traverse to succeed as a two-way Royal, and Ohtani's epic accomplishments, have already been made and will continue regardless of how he fares. Critics will say he wasn't worthy of the task if he fails the two-way test; should he pass it, Caglianone risks being labeled as just an also-ran if his numbers don't come close to Ohtani's.

How he weathers the storm will reveal much about him. But this much is certain: he has the talent to make it to Kansas City in some capacity. And he probably will.

Look for Caglianone at Kauffman Stadium tonight when the Royals host Arizona for the final game of the clubs' three-contest series.

So, let the Jac Caglianone watch begin.

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