Royals' face backlash from fans for unclear messaging regarding Jac Caglianone's playing time

It's been a strange season for Jac Caglianone. He's second amongst qualified Royals hitters in OPS, but he's been, without a doubt, the most polarizing player on the team. He's hitting .246 with 5 homers, and 10 RBIs with a .744 OPS. Against righties, he's been an above-average MLB player, hitting .271/.350/.467with 4 homers and 8 RBI.

His numbers against left-handers though are well below league average. His .171/.194/.314 slash line is borderline unplayable if you're a fringe-roster guy, but the 6th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft has earned a longer leash than most. The 6'4" slugger is starting to look like a true Major League hitter and is settling in to life in the show nicely. The team that employs him has a plan for him, but it isn't the one many Royals fans envisioned when the season started with division-title expectations.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro has essentially morphed Caglianone into a platoon player, much to the chagrin of the loyal fan base that wants to see him play every day. Instead of letting him work through his struggles with same-side throwers, the Royals have elected to let Caglianone watch from the dugout when they face a lefty starter.

Royals' handling of Jac Caglianone in the lineup card is getting confusing

Matters got a little sticky during this recent road trip, with Cags playing in just one out of the three games against the White Sox and two out of the three games against the Cardinals. Meanwhile, Vinnie Pasquantino played every day with his .000 ISO and 54 wRC+. Caglianone had a productive game on Saturday vs the red birds, going 2-4 with a homer, showcasing that he is a much more confident hitter in 2026.

Cags has undoubtedly struggled against southpaws, with a .574 OPS against them, but his propensity to run into a homer still makes him dangerous to pitch to. He’s been in and out of the lineup more regularly than expected, which has caused quite the stir throughout Royals nation.

While his 142 at-bats qualify him for the batting title and other statistical markers, the last start Caglianone made against a lefty was White Sox starter Michael Kay on April 9th (Caglianone started against Ranger Suarez on Tuesday night, we’ll get to that in moment don’t yall worry).

Since that date, the Royals have faced nine southpaws and are 2-7 in those games. Caglianone was benched three times (Framber Valdez, Ryan Weathers, and Yusei Kikuchi) and entered as a pinch-hitter five times. The two times they beat a left-hander was against Kikuchi (Cags' was benched) and Reid Detmers (Cags' pinch-hit homer helped the Royals cause).

But when right-hander Andre Pallante was scheduled to pitch on May 17th, Caglianone’s name was nowhere to be found. Without a good explanation other than "reverse splits" as to why he sat against a righty, it may have been the final straw for many Royals fans.

The fan base was appropriately livid.

It's safe to say that Jac Caglianone is a fan favorite. I would jump out on a limb and say he’s the second most popular Royals player behind Bobby Witt Jr.

The coaching staff started this controversy on Opening Day with Chris Sale on the hill. It was jarring to see the former sixth overall pick and No.1 prospect ride the bench on the first day of the season, but the reasoning was understandable. Sale is a future Hall of Famer with a filthy fastball and nasty slider. I hated not seeing Cags in the lineup on the first day of the baseball season, but I was willing to trust the process.

I chose to believe they held Jac out of the Opening Day lineup because of the caliber of pitcher they were facing, but after his 0-4 and 3 strikeout performance against Brewers starter Kyle Harrison, the Royals' actions shifted.

He was benched when Cleveland's lefty Joey Cantillo was scheduled to start on April 5th and started against the aforementioned Anthony Kay on April 9th.

At this point, we have enough evidence to see that Caglianone is not the same hitter when he's not facing a righty. That doesn't mean he shouldn't see the field against any left-hander.

Jac Caglianone is an ultra-talented baseball player who can hit moonshots with the flick of his wrist and nail down runners that dare to test him. Even against southpaws, he needs to get the lion's share of the starts in right field (or first base at this point).

His metrics are too good to leave out of the lineup, even against lefties. As the season is slipping further away from postseason hopes and dreams, you need to let Jac Caglianone work through his issues and see if he can hit his way out of it.

"All the great managers, not only in sports but in every industry in the world, where their success comes, is putting their employees in a position to succeed. And that's ultimately what we're doing... There will come a day, whether it's 2026 or not, or '27, that they're (Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen) going to play every day. They're going to play against the lefties. So we've got to get them their developmental at-bats, but when you're trying to win a division, that development has to take a back seat."

Royals GM J.J. Picollo via 96.5 The Fan

If last night's 7-1 loss is any indication, Caglianone's at-bats vs lefties will continue to be a rough watch. He went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts, all of them looking.

The coaching staff and Matt Quatraro may be overcomplicating his playing time based on his splits and the opposing pitchers' splits. If he is truly going to be a part of their future, they need to see what he can do against lefties on a larger sample size than 31 at-bats.

The season may already be a lost cause for the Royals, but the 23-year-old slugger certainly is not.

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