The Kansas City Royals announced on Monday that they would be playing the first batch of 2024 draftees with full-season affiliates. Up until this point, the draft class had spent time at the team facilities in Surprise, Arizona. Now, prospects will head to full-season affiliates where they’ll wrap up their 2024 seasons in minor league play. The minor league season has about a month left to play and should give us a good glimpse into each of these players as they kickstart their professional careers.
Among the group of draftees, the most high profile is easily two-way player, Jac Caglianone. The Royals selected Caglianone with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft. Across three seasons at Florida, he appeared in 165 games. He slashed .355/.447/.760 with 75 home runs. If previous indications are to be believed, the Royals won’t have Caglianone pitch in the pro ranks this season. General Manager J.J. Picollo has stated that it’s probably “unlikely” he will pitch again this season, given the amount of innings he already pitched at Florida. That isn’t to shut down the future prospects entirely, but they’ll get him out there as a hitter this season where he’s more naturally fit. “Cags” will head to High-A Quad Cities where he will debut on Tuesday.
Other promotions announced include RHP Andrew Morones as well as infielder Sam Kulasingam and RHP Zachary Cawyer. Morones is headed to Davenport alongside Caglianone. The other two have been assigned to Low-A Columbia and should debut in the week ahead as well.
[…] Preston Farr at Farm to Fountains writes about 2024 draftees being assigned to minor league teams. […]