Jac Caglianone compared to Rays All-Star

Is Jac Caglianone primed for a big season?

David Adler of MLB.com posted an article this week titled, “10 players who could be 2026 versions of ’25’s breakout stars” — and the former Florida Gators All-American made his list.

Caglianone struggled as a rookie in 2025, finishing with a .157 batting average, 7 homers and 18 RBI in 62 games. But many baseball insiders think he could boom in Year 2. Including Adler.

Adler posed this question: Who’s the 2026 version of Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays (A young slugger with a huge power surge)?

His answer: Caglianone

“Caglianone was maybe the top power-hitting prospect in baseball and absolutely tearing up the Minors when he got called up last year. His big league debut didn’t quite live up to that, but it’s only a matter of time before he starts mashing.

The 22-year-old lefty has elite bat speed — his 77.4 mph average swing speed in 2025 was top 10 in the Majors for hitters who took as many swings as him. His 12% barrel rate as a rookie gives him a solid power-hitting foundation to build on. And we know he has elite exit velocity in him — he ripped a base hit at 120.9 mph in the Minors in April and another at 117.3 mph in the 2024 Arizona Fall League. Plus, he should reap the benefits of the Royals moving their outfield fences in this winter.

Expect Caglianone to slug like Caminero, a similar elite-bat-speed young slugger who only hit six homers for the Rays as a rookie in 2024 but then erupted for 45, also in a friendlier ballpark, in 2025.”

Junior Caminero had a breakout season in 2025. Can Jac Caglianone do the same a year later?

Caminero hit .264 with 45 homers and 110 RBI last season in 154 games. He was an All-Star and second-team All-MLB pick. The year before, his first full season in the majors, he batted .248 but he had only six homers and 18 RBI in 43 games.

Both Caglianone and Caminero are 22.

As Kings of Kauffman, a Royals fan site noted, “Caglianone will get the bonus of hitting in a friendlier environment for home runs, with Kauffman Stadium getting a makeover in the outfield. The left and right field walls will be moved 9-10 feet from the foul poles, tapering off toward center field.”

The first full squad workout for the Royals is Feb. 16.