How Did Jac Caglianone Find the Sweet Spot to Take His Hitting to Another Level?

[Yirsandy Rodríguez]

Image courtesy of William Purnell-Imagn Images

Looking at Jac Caglianone’s stats page on FanGraphs is an absolute delight, even if at some point you lost hope that he had enough talent to make an impact as a hitter in the major leagues. His debut last year with the Kansas City Royals was plagued by inconsistencies and only a few flashes of his potential in the batter’s box. But, for a rookie who was only 22 years old, there will always be some margin for error. Caglianone took advantage of it pretty quickly. Comparing his performance to last year shows two absurdly different versions.

2025: -1.6 fWAR, 46 wRC+, 7.8 BB%, 22.4 K%, .172 BABIP, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 232 PA

2026: 2.2 fWAR, 124 wRC+, 6.2 BB%, 25.8 K%, .336 BABIP, 22 HR, 60 RBI, 465 PA

The first big difference between the two samples is plate appearances, as Caglianone has doubled last year’s sample. That starting point is much more impactful when we analyze the offensive breakout across all the major offensive patterns. Obviously, the differences in the power samples quickly grab your attention. But the categories that stand out to me the most are BABIP and the production shown by the jump in wRC+. However, the key point here goes far beyond the peripheral statistics. It all starts with his approach at the plate.

Season	Monthly	O-Swing%	Z-Swing%	Swing%	O-Contact%	Z-Contact%	Contact%	F-Strike%	SwStr%
2025	2025	38.5%	67.5%	51.3%	57.8%	87.5%	75.0%	62.5%	12.9%
2026	1st Half	35.5%	70.0%	51.7%	52.2%	82.5%	71.4%	62.8%	14.8%
2026	2nd Half	47.3%	77.6%	61.5%	62.5%	90.6%	79.2%	72.4%	12.8%
	Difference	11.8%	7.6%	9.8%	10.3%	8.1%	7.8%	9.6%	-2.0%

Caglianone is being more aggressive against pitches inside and outside the strike zone, and the results have been revealing: that extreme aggressiveness is accompanied by much more contact in this second half of the season. As you can see, his swing rate in the zone had already increased in the first half of this season compared to his 2025 metrics. The difference was contact, with a similar loss both inside and outside the zone. What comes next is even more absurd, as Caglianone has solved that reduction in contact with much more aggressiveness instead of trying to be more selective. This, obviously, is the starting point for getting to the best part of the adjustment. As you would expect, a more expansive swing is going to put many more balls in play. But, at the same time, aggressive hitters also end up reducing a large part of their quality of contact.

On the other hand, what could tip the balance is if that additional contact can turn into production. Caglianone is achieving something that does not usually come with such marked aggressiveness: he is taking more swings, putting more balls in play, and turning that contact into production. His power when he gets to pull is evident, but what makes the adjustment even more interesting is that he is also producing when the ball ends up toward the opposite field.

Season	LD%	GB%	FB%	HR/FB	Pull%	Cent%	Oppo%	Soft%	Med%	Hard%
2025	15.8%	50.0%	34.2%	13.0%	43.0%	37.3%	19.6%	21.5%	41.1%	37.3%
2026	22.8%	46.3%	30.9%	22.9%	46.9%	35.4%	17.7%	11.6%	45.7%	42.8%
Differences	7.0%	-3.7%	-3.3%	9.9%	3.9%	-1.9%	-1.9%	-9.9%	4.6%	5.5%

Here you can see how two key points connect: his high aggressiveness in looking for pitches anywhere in the zone and how he has found a way to pull the ball more often. What he is achieving is lethal: a 7.0-percentage-point increase in line drives, a result that brings balance, especially by eliminating a portion of ground balls and fly balls. More hard hits, and a 9.9-percentage-point reduction in Soft%. There are only six qualified hitters with at least a 50% HR/FB rate and .300+ BABIP. Caglianone is in the elite!

Name	Team	HR/FB	BABIP	GB/FB	LD%	GB%	FB%	IFFB%
Drake Baldwin	ATL	56.3%	.351	4.00	24.5%	60.4%	15.1%	0.0%
Jake Bauers	MIL	56.0%	.305	2.84	19.3%	59.7%	21.0%	0.0%
Yordan Alvarez	HOU	52.5%	.450	1.60	30.7%	42.7%	26.7%	2.5%
Willson Contreras	BOS	51.2%	.383	1.65	24.0%	47.3%	28.7%	4.7%
Ryan O'Hearn	PIT	50.0%	.343	3.00	30.4%	52.2%	17.4%	5.0%
Jac Caglianone	KCR	50.0%	.333	3.07	21.9%	58.9%	19.2%	10.7%

Elite hitters such as Ben Rice, Luis García Jr. and Hunter Goodman have been left out because their respective BABIPs remained below .282. Well, Caglianone’s impact does not end here. Let’s now look at another of his potential highlights this year, and that is his production when he hits toward the opposite side of the field. I limited the filter to left-handed hitters with at least 50 plate appearances this year:

Name	Team	PA	wRC+	ISO	BABIP	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Garrett Mitchell	MIL	63	270	.258	.525	.532	.532	.790	.570
Christian Yelich	MIL	67	242	.313	.438	.463	.463	.776	.530
James Wood	WSN	91	237	.396	.354	.418	.418	.813	.523
Tyler Soderstrom	ATH	65	236	.415	.361	.400	.400	.815	.513
Jac Caglianone	KCR	55	211	.236	.415	.436	.436	.673	.478

Caglianone is here again! And he is doing it in the Top 5 in wRC+ among the left-handed hitters in this group (211), along with other impressive numbers. Yes, I think you’ve already noticed that he is the only left-handed hitter who appears in both profiles: devastating power when pulling, and elite production when he manages to hit toward the opposite field. I’d like to know what you think, but personally, I love hitters who can combine this approach. I understand that power hitters should always be prepared to pull, but the fact that they can often make adjustments and find success toward the opposite side is another level. Caglianone is showing it in many ways. And he is doing it against all types of pitchers.

Split	Pitch %	PA	HR	xSLG	xwOBA	BABIP	Hard Hit%	Bat Speed (MPH)
Pull vs RHP	5.8%	96	9	.742	.498	.368	59.4%	79.3
Oppo vs RHP	2.6%	43	2	.687	.454	.341	58.1%	76.8
Pull vs LHP	2.5%	41	5	.672	.431	.333	46.3%	76.7
Oppo vs LHP	1.0%	16	0	.708	.492	.563	43.8%	72.7

What big signs can we see there? Look at the adjustment Caglianone is making against left-handed pitchers. What we see here is all about the outcome of the ball put in play. How does that .563 BABIP look? Yes, it has come on 16 balls in play, but the combination of BABIP and xwOBA has been fantastic, even with a lower bat speed. As we saw at the beginning, Caglianone has managed to find a highly productive balance once he does not get to pull. The correlation between BABIP and xSLG comes from his high hard-hit rates.

Without a doubt, in the middle of such a disappointing season for the Royals, Caglianone’s big leap into the elite has become one of the most interesting stories of the entire season. The most encouraging thing is that he managed to unlock not only his power, but also an explosive aggressiveness that is leading to devastating contact. And all of that in a big leap during his second season at age 23. Of course, league adjustments will come, and some of that aggressiveness will have to adjust. But, for now, it is a pleasure to enjoy the feeling Caglianone is creating every time he is announced to step up to the plate.

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