Jac Caglianone reached this MLB milestone in Royals’ 1st Thursday game at Cards
Jac Caglianone rounded first base as a big-leaguer for the first time on Thursday, his Kansas City Royals jersey rustling in the wind at Busch Stadium.
And he kept going.
A loud ovation followed as he stopped at second base with a smile on his face. It took seven at-bats, but Caglianone finally captured his elusive first hit in the fourth inning of Thursday’s doubleheader opener at St. Louis.
And so continues the assembly of his rookie yearbook.
Caglianone’s hit was a beauty. He smashed a double down the right-field line off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas; the Royals went on to lose 6-5 in 10 innings.
“He’s a very decorated pitcher and a veteran,” Caglianone said. “So I knew his command was really good. He started with two heaters up and I got down 0-2. Luckily, I saw the curveball pop.”
The baseball sailed off Caglianone’s bat and landed just out of reach of Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras. The double brought home Royals captain Salvador Perez, who had preceded Caglianone with a double of his own.
At that point in the game, the Royals led 2-0.
“Yeah, hopefully he can breathe now,” Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said of his young teammate recording his first hit in the majors. “Him and I talk quite a bit on what it’s going to feel like and things like that.
“That was probably the slowest ball he put in play. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you hit it. Just hit it to the right spot.”
The Royals gathered up the baseball that Caglianone hit and planned to give it to him. He said he intended to hand it over to his parents for safekeeping.
“I’ll probably have my dad take it home,” Caglianone said. “He can keep it.”
Caglianone, 22, made his MLB debut Tuesday night in St. Louis. He went hitless in five plate appearances and dealt with a few unlucky breaks along the way.
Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II robbed him of extra bases with a terrific running catch on a shot to the warning track. And All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado took away another base-hit opportunity.
Caglianone knew he had come close Tuesday but had nothing to show for it in the stat book.
“It’s the big leagues and these guys are really good at what they do,” he said. “It’s been good so far and (I have had) a lot of hard contact. I’m just going to keep building on it.”
Caglianone, as he noted, had an exit velocity over 100 mph in multiple Tuesday appearances at the plate as the Royals’ designated hitter.
“He’s going to impact a lot of games for us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We’re pretty confident in that and he has been swinging the bat fine. ...
“For him to get that first one (major-league hit) out of the way and kind of get that relaxation and that feel is good for him, and good for us.”
Caglianone continued to hit the ball hard Thursday. Deployed in the middle of the Royals’ order, he batted sixth behind Pasquantino and Salvador Perez.
Caglianone also made his first major-league start in right field Thursday. The Royals are evaluating how he reacts to balls off the bat. Additionally, they are looking at his first step and how he tracks down the ball.
“He’s an athlete and a good baseball player,” Quatraro said. “I don’t think there is any issue with that. I mean, watching him even in spring training just track balls when we go out there and shag, he looks natural. Just make the routine plays and throw to the right base.”
Caglianone tracked down a tailing line drive toward the right-field line on Thursday. He hauled in the ball on the run to culminate a nice play.
“These grandstands are no joke, especially with people out there,” he said. “You’ve really got to key in on the ball. So yeah, I’m just glad to I could help the team.”
It’s all a learning experience. But at least Caglianone can now cross off getting that first big-league hit from his MLB to-do list.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 1:55 PM.
