I've seen this conversation before. The best example that I can think of is Jackson Holliday; a player rakes in Spring Training (in Holliday's case, batting .311 with 3 doubles, 2 triples and 2 homers in 15 spring games in 2024) and then getting left off the Opening Day roster for more development.
The annoying thing about Holliday is that he was the top prospect going in to 2024 -- and in the minor league season of 2023 he batted .323/.442/.499 with 113 runs, 30 doubles, and 24 swiped bags in 125 games.
Holliday was evidently not ready for the majors -- in 60 MLB games in 2024 he batted just .190 with a .565 OPS. Though I am of complete confidence that Holliday will be fine and even a star of the game in the near future, his case represents why a team would keep a player down even if he hits well in spring.
Jac Caglianone's case is a little bit different. He was drafted in the first round of the 2024 draft by the Kansas City Royals. The highest level he ever played was High-A ball, where he slashed .236/.302/.388.
However, in 2025's Spring Training, Caglianone is batting .500/.609/1.167 with 3 homers in 14 games. This is nothing shy of amazing. Take a look at this beautiful third home run of Caglianone's spring:
I've followed baseball closely since the early 80's... but I've never really dove deep into the world of prospects and how teams manage them. Sometimes guys (like Bob Horner and Jim Abbott) are tossed into the fire right away... and other times teams want to give their young talent a chance to develop without feeling the extra pressure. My question is what do the athletes want? I wonder what Caglianone thinks is best for him.
ReplyDeleteThat's an amazing point that I should have looked at more.
DeleteThis is what he said on the matter:
“I think I showed what I’m capable of,” Caglianone said. “I went out here just wanting to perform. Get to know everybody. Get comfortable out here. And I think I did that. Definitely learned a lot. Being around a bunch of big leaguers was the coolest thing ever.”
Seems happy with how he did, and not upset with his current situation.
Sounds like a positive attitude. Gotta like that about the kid.
DeleteA guy who hit .241 without power in A+ last year needs more seasoning in the minors no matter what his spring training batting average is. (Also, his slash-line was .241/.302/.388, not .236/etc.)
ReplyDeleteCool story! I hope he has a successful career. Imo tho players will have other-worldly spring trainings and then they’re not nearly as good in the majors. So i think it’s fair to keep him in the minors for a but longer but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
ReplyDelete