Not many people know that Kansas Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone is Puerto Rican.
“It’s like a shock for a lot of people when they find out I’m Puerto Rican,” Caglianone said. “I take a lot of pride in being Puerto Rican; my mom is super proud. It’s just really cool to see the amount of Puerto Ricans that are out here in the league.”
Most know Caglianone as Italian-American. So when Italy and Puerto Rico were recruiting him for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, he committed to playing for Italy. Why? It was simple.
“Italy contacted me first, so I’m going to play with them this time,” Caglianone told World Baseball Network prior to the Kansas City Royals’ game against the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 16 in Kansas City, Mo.
He will also get to play with his Royals teammate, first baseman Vinny Pasquantino, with Italy in the WBC.
Caglianone, 22, is still extremely proud of his Puerto Rican heritage, which comes from his mom’s side of the family. She was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Caglianone came to the Royals with a lot of hype in the 2024 MLB draft, having been selected sixth overall out of the University of Florida. He was a two-way star at Florida, but he almost didn’t get the chance to become a hitter at Florida.
“Honestly, coming off Tommy John, they didn’t really think I would hit in Florida,” Caglianone said. “They just thought I would pitch, but the coach kind’ve liked what he saw in batting practice. They gave me an opportunity and I ran with it.”
In 2021, Caglianone’s original goal was to get drafted out of H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Fla. A few weeks prior to the draft, Caglianone learned that he would need Tommy John surgery.
”They wrote Jac off as a hitter in high school,” Plant baseball coach Dennis Braun told MLB.com in 2024. “A lot of people don’t know that. Some of that still bothers me today. They come watch him pitch, and when he got down off the mound, they wouldn’t even watch his last at-bat, which I didn’t understand that. And then a lot of scouts tell me how much better he got, and I go, ‘That’s fine, but he was that same guy. He could hit the ball as far as anybody here, including Pete Alonso, and you guys missed it.'”
Caglianone has had to make many adjustments in his brief professional career. He is no longer pitching, and he has also been shifted to the outfield because of Pasquantino.
He has played 51 games in the outfield, with just one start at first base, and was the designated hitter seven times this season with the Royals. Caglianone has had a strong season in the minor leagues, hitting 20 home runs and recording 72 RBIs with a slash line of .337/.408/.617 in 264 at-bats combined between and Triple-A this season.
“The pitchers’ misses are a lot smaller up here than they are in Triple-A. Shrinking the zone and kind of refining that has been a big process,” Caglianone said when asked about the adjustments from Triple-A to Major League Baseball.
He has struggled at the MLB level a bit, hitting just seven home runs, 18 RBIs, and a slash line of .158/.238/.297 in 206 at-bats this season.
Despite his struggles, Caglianone has stayed positive and is looking to end his season on a high note.
“I’m just focusing day-to-day rather than looking at the big picture at the moment,” Caglianone said. “As long as I can take care of business day in and day out, I think I’ll be in a good spot.”
Photo: Jac Caglianone (14) celebrates with Tyler Tolbert (2) after scoring on a single by Carter Jensen during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
