MIAMI — It’s been a whirlwind six-plus weeks for Jac Caglianone since his MLB debut June 3 in St. Louis.

Patrick Mahomes came to watch his first home game, sitting in the front row behind home plate.

“It was a cool feeling to be that close to him,” Caglianone said.

The rookie received a standing ovation in his first at-bat — then delivered an RBI and followed it up with a single.

Nine days later, he launched two homers against the Rangers — and got the playful silent treatment from his teammates in the dugout.

“I thought it was funny,” he said. “I didn’t know how long they’d run with it, but they ran with it for a little bit, so I was glad when everybody started giving me high fives and stuff.”

 

Then he stepped into the batter’s box against the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. He struck out, but “he’s one of the best in the game, so that was really cool.”

On Friday night, the former Florida Gators star and Tampa native got to check off another unforgettable moment — playing in his home state for the first time as a big leaguer, as his Kansas City Royals began a three-game series against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park.

Caglianone started in right field — where he’s made 30 of his 36 big-league starts this season — and batted sixth. With his parents, sister, and other supporters watching, he went 1-for-4 with a walk.

He led off the second inning with a single in his first at-bat, drilling a 91-mph slider from Marlins’ starter Sandy Alcantara into right field after working a full count.

“He’s extremely talented. Huge power,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Caglianone before the game. “He’s a great teammate. He’s a guy that works extremely hard to try to fix whatever’s not working well for him. He’s had streaks of good at-bats with bad luck. He’s had streaks of at-bats where he hasn’t controlled things the way he should. It’s all part of the growing process.”

Caglianone said before the game that he hoped to see former Gators teammate Jake Clemente, whom the Marlins drafted in the seventh round on Monday, sometime Saturday.

“I talked to a lot of the guys that were still there this past year and followed how they did in the draft and everything like that,” he said.

Of the Gators’ 2025 season, he said, “Yeah, they had their ups and downs, just like we did [my] last year there. I think, knowing Sully, they’ll come back better next year and ready to go.”

The sixth overall draft pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Caglianone’s climb to the majors has been quick. Now in the big leagues, he said he’s enjoying the experience.

“It’s really cool, being able to see the new cities and being able to hit new ballparks, places I’ve never been before,” he said. “I played against Miami last year in Coral Gables, but I’ve never been here before [at loanDepot park], so it’s a cool first. I really liked Petco Park. It’s probably my favorite [ballpark] so far.”

Caglianone has grown especially close in the Royals clubhouse with outfielder John Rave, second baseman Tyler Tolbert and Noah Cameron. But there’s also a natural connection with another former Gator, second baseman Jonathan India.

“We’ve talked quite a few times on the road — one-on-one convos, just about how to handle the big leagues,” India said. “He’s in a good spot mentally, which is all we care about. We want him to be in a good spot mentally so he can let his talent play.”

India was National League Rookie of the Year with the Reds in 2021, the season before Caglianone arrived at UF and began his assault on Southeastern Conference pitchers. He has been impressed with his rookie teammate.

“He was drafted just last year, pushed up the ranks fast and now he’s a big leaguer, so he’s a professional at a young age, which I think is pretty cool,” India said. “He acts the right way, he works hard. He wants to succeed, but he has to understand the big leagues is hard. And he knows that. He works every day very hard, which is impressive to watch.”

Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. described Caglianone as quiet, but said he has fit in seamlessly in the clubhouse.

“Everyone in here has tried to help him out in their own way if he needs anything. I think me and him can relate most just because of how we were drafted, where we came up and the prospect status of it all,” said Witt Jr., the second overall draft pick in 2019. “So I tell him, ‘I’m always here for you’. He asks me questions. I tell him to make sure you enjoy it every day.”

Does he?

“100 percent,” Witt Jr. said. “Every day he shows up to the field, he’s got a smile on his face, so you know he’s enjoying it.”

Caglianone is still adjusting to big-league pitching. Coming out of the All-Star break, he was batting .140 (18-for-129) with seven RBI, four home runs and seven runs scored. In his final two seasons at Florida, Caglianone hit .368, belted 68 homers and drove in 162 runs to help the Gators reach the College World Series in back-to-back seasons.

“The easiest way to put it is just that it’s baseball,” Caglianone said. “You know, hitting the ball’s hard — not much to show for it. I think as long as I just keep sticking to shrinking the zone, putting good swings on good pitches, everything will even out.

“I try not to think about it too much, to be honest with you,” he continued. “I’m not somebody that likes to think a lot about hitting. I never really have. At [UF], I was more focused on pitching than anything, so hitting was just kind of like second nature.”

“It’s an adjustment period,” Quatraro said. “You can’t do that until you get here and try to figure it out. He’s been very professional about it. That’s one of the reasons we had confidence in bringing him up, because of the off-the-field things we were confident in him as a person.”

Caglianone is also adjusting to life in the outfield as a daily assignment. He’s made just one start at first base and five as a designated hitter, with the rest coming in right field. So, how’s it gone out there?

“Good, for the most part. I mean, there’s definitely some times where, you know, baseball’s baseball,” he said. “They’ll hit a ball that you’ve never really worked on before and it’ll kind of surprise you. But other than that, it’s been good. It’s the reads, you know, just working on getting good reads.”