17 hours ago
Florida standout Jac Caglianone launches first two home runs of MLB career
Former Florida Gators slugger Jac Caglianone has been the hot talk among rising Major League Baseball prospects, and on Thursday night he reached one of the first of many milestones in his nacent professional career.
The lefthanded first baseman, outfielder and designated hitter — as well as pitcher — slugged his first MLB home run against the Texas Rangers in Arlington. Caglianone's first dinger was a solo shot off a 95.5 mph two-seam fastball served up by southpaw Jacob Latz above the strike zone, which he sent 387 feet with an exit velocity of 106.5 mph into the stands; according to Statcast, the round-tripper was good enough to leave the park in 17 of 30 MLB parks.
Cags grounded his next two times up, but in his fourth at-bat of the day, he went deep once again with another solo shot. This time, he slugged an 85.8 mph first-pitch slider from lefty Robert Garcia 439 feet thanks to a staggering 110.2 mph exit velocity — a towering shot that was out of the park in every single MLB venue this season.
He finished the day 2-for-4 before being subbed out for John Rave in right field as a defensive replacement.
For the 2025 campaign, Caglianone has played in 14 games, stringing together a .218/.232/.364 slashline along with a pair of doubles, the two newly-minted home runs, four runs batted in and 12 strikeouts against one walk. Both his Fangraphs and Baseball Reference WAR values are currently in the negative, but if his performance on Thursday night was any indication, his value should be positive sooner rather than later.
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