Why Jac Caglianone’s playing more than you think — even if not as much as you want
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Caglianone started for the 37th time in 48 games and is on pace for 513 plate appearances.
- Quatraro and GM J.J. Picollo weigh matchups and roster flexibility when setting lineups.
- The team views Caglianone as a work in progress and says they want to be patient.
If Royals followers had their way, Jac Caglianone already would be an everyday player because of his mesmerizing potential.
And less than a year since he was called up last June, the case is increasingly compelling as his plate discipline and mindset have improved immensely since and through his 2025 struggles.
Lugging one of the least productive offenses in the American League, no doubt the Royals would like to get to that same place about Caglianone — who after a puzzling day off Sunday had two doubles in KC’s 3-1 loss to Boston on Monday at Kauffman Stadium.
But the Royals aren’t there yet on Caglianone, a distinction that was amplified Sunday in St. Louis when the lefthanded-hitting Caglianone was rested against … right-handed starter Andre Pallante.
All the more glaring that he sat despite hitting a home run in the ninth inning the night before.
When asked by reporters in St. Louis if Pallante’s history of reverse splits was a factor, manager Matt Quatraro said that had “something to do with it.” But he added that amid a streak of facing four straight right-handed starters, the club also was seeking to “keep everybody involved.”
No surprise that the rationale provoked instant social media outrage.
For that matter, though, even with a pause to ponder it was a curiosity in the grand scheme of how to accelerate the development of a player with such pivotal promise.
Especially after that last at-bat Saturday, which is at once a completely superficial and entirely logical point.
But Quatraro and general manager J.J. Picollo see his playing time as part of a broader and more intricate matrix.
And you can’t say their thinking isn’t reasonable and measured — even if you’d rather they not douse the buzz that way.
Partly, it’s about their view of Caglianone as a work in progress. Partly it’s about Quatraro’s desire to keep the bench sharp when called upon. And, most of all, it’s about what they believe creates the best chance to win on any given day.
Trying to usher along Caglianone and simultaneously seeking to seize the day don’t have to be mutually exclusive, of course — a topic in itself for another time.
But it’s also true that the Royals haven’t exactly muzzled Caglianone, who on Monday at Kauffman Stadium started for the 37th time in 48 games this season, and whom Quatraro noted is on pace for 500-plus plate appearances.
When I put that point to Picollo, he said “Actually, I’ll correct you: He’s on pace for a little bit more than that.”
As of four more appearances Monday night, in fact, Caglianone was on track for 513 this season — one in which Picollo initially had reckoned 450 would be a good baseline.
“If he’s getting 550 to 600, that’s because he’s earned it,” Picollo added. “(If) he’s getting closer to 650, that means he’s killing it. … There’s very few guys that get over 600 plate appearances on any given team. You might get two or three a year.
“So if he’s somewhere between 550 and 600, that’s excellent for a young player.”
The implication was two-fold.
For one thing, there’s ample room for Caglianone’s role to expand farther as the season progresses.
For another, smitten as they might be with what Caglianone could become, they want to be patient about his growth. No doubt all the more so after calling him up faster than they’d wanted to last year.
And this is all overlaid on a canvas of variables that exceeds what most — and most definitely myself — might be able to comprehend: Last year I spoke at length with Quatraro and vice president of research and development Daniel Mack about the process of creating the lineup every day.
As much as hitting and matchups typically carry the most weight, that’s only a slice of what’s discussed in the meetings led by Quatraro and often joined by Picollo.
Among dozens of other metrics-based elements considered, naturally, are defense and base-running, flexibility for late-game situations and even what data actually is statistically revealing or not.
“When we sit in that room, it’s very rarely a unanimous decision,” Piccolo said Monday. “Ultimately, ‘Q’ has to make the choice, and what he thinks is going to allow us to compete in that game and win.
“We won that game (Sunday) so the silver lining is our lineup was fine. … I know a lot’s been made of it, but to us that’s just another decision we make every day.”
As for who plays where when, the group also will weigh anything from how many days in a row someone has played to how many times in a row they’ll face right-handed hitting.
And then some.
“You’ve still got to be smart,” Quatraro told me last year. “Not too many Cal Ripkens (who played in an MLB-record 2,632 straight games). So you’ve got to pick the right days for guys to get days off.”
In fact, you could make a case Caglianone prospered by sitting on Sunday.
After being just 3 for his last 12, Caglianone on Monday had the two doubles and a line smash that third baseman Nick Sogard lunged to catch.
He also had a poised at-bat against lefthanded fireballer Aroldis Chapman, ultimately grounding out to first on a full count after taking five pitches — an experience Caglianone figured will help him next time around.
As for not starting Sunday for just the fifth time since April 26, Caglianone said, “I’m never going to question any of the coaching staff’s decisions. I think that they’re putting their best lineup out there on any given day, whether I’m a part of it or not.
“Obviously, I would love to be in there all the time. But, it’s baseball, sometimes matchups don’t line up.”
And sometimes fan expectations don’t align with how a club wants to develop players.
But the gap here is less than it might have seemed on Sunday ... and getting closer all the time as Caglianone gets more on trajectory to become who he’s going to be.