Royals fans share hopeful, wild and funny expectations for Jac Caglianone
Tuesday isn’t Christmas Day, of course, but for a whole bunch of KC fans, it’ll be even better than the yuletide.
Top prospect Jac Caglianone will play in his first game with the Royals Tuesday night when they take on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. As the Royals’ offense has scuffled this season, fans have been dreaming of the team added Caglianone’s bat, even though he was drafted less than a year ago.
Caglianone has hit some long home runs in the minor leagues this year, and seemingly every video of his dingers has gone viral. Heck, Major League Baseball’s social media team seems to have a crush on Caglianone.
Now that the dream is about to become reality for Royals fans, I asked them for their honest expectations for Caglianone. Some offered a thoughtful outlook. Others leaned-in heavily on the Paul Bunyan-type comparisons for the 22-year-old Caglianone.
Here is a look at some of what they were saying about Caglianone.
- “Not all-star level to begin,” a fan wrote, “but helluva lot better than what we’ve seen on the roster so far.”
- Another shared some statistics: “.255 15 HR”
- “Igniting the offense,” a fan shared. “Thinking 25 HRs in the regular season.”
- One made a historical comparison: “Babe Ruth”
- No pressure from this fan either: “I’m expecting a 40/40 season in 102 games and a Gold Glove in RF”
- Another wrote: “.220 with 13 bombs and around 40 RBIs I expect a HR in his first at bat in STL.”
- One offered a request: “Bat on ball with Runners in Scoring Position to score. That’s all I want. I don’t care about numbers in the first year”
- This was a specific prediction: “(H)it less in first 2-3 games and rock it in Chicago then have an average series vs. NYY next week. After than steady increase into Bobby 2023-24.”
- “He is not enough to solve our problems,” another wrote. “We’re putting pressure on him to perform right out of the gate and in all likelihood he won’t be the savior we need.”
- How about this from a fan: “Aaron Judge power, zero k’s and a ring. Is that too low?”
- “Italian Ohtani,” wrote another.
- “Judging by the timelines reaction to the news....a mix between Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds,” a fan noted.
- “40 homers by the All-Star break,” one offered.
- Then there was this observation: “We’re scoring zero runs per game. He can’t hurt us.”
- “If he hits around .250 with 15-20 home runs and 70 RBI’s that would be a win,” a Royals fan wrote.
- This is the hope for all KC fans: “I think he’ll struggle this year with huge flashes of power. Everything clicks late spring next year and he drives in runs behind BWJ for years to come - 2-3 World Series appearances over their careers”
- “One Home Run a game,” wrote a fan, who added: “duh”
- “Hits so many home runs,” a fan shared, “that ESPN starts interrupting college football broadcasts with his at bats.”
- I’ll close with the most specific answer from a fan: “.263/.315/.496. 22 home runs and 54 RBIs.”
Here are a few other responses with memes.
