It was the Jac-est of times, it was the Caglianonest of times.

What did we expect to happen?

The Royals lucked—yes, lucked—into drafting Jac Caglianone with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He’d been a star for the Florida Gators, and in a draft with no clear top pick, there was no noise that he could go first. He didn’t, and lasted past the top five, where the Royals gladly selected him.

The plan wasn’t to call him up in 2025. That’s rarely the plan for MLB teams. It’s different from other American professional sports, where first-round (and sometimes even later-round) picks are supposed to contribute immediately. Not so in baseball, where the draftee takes his time working his way through the minor league system before, hopefully in a few years, makes his debut and can co

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