Kansas City Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Jac Caglianone announced this morning on MLB Network that he will participate in the 2026 Home Run Derby, which will take place on Monday, July 13 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa.
Caglianone, 23, will be the sixth Royal to participate in the Home Run Derby, following Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017), Salvador Perez (2021) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2024). No Royal has won the Home Run Derby but Witt Jr. was the runner-up in 2024, when he hit 50 home runs in total, including 13 in the final round, 1 shy of Teoscar Hernández’s 14.
In his first full season in the Majors, Caglianone in 85 games is slashing .258/.322/.455 (77-for-299) with a team-high 14 home runs and 33 RBI. In 31 games since the beginning of June, he’s slashing .289/.351/.562 (35-for-121) with 9 home runs and 22 RBI, including 3 multi-HR efforts.
Caglianone’s 14 home runs have an average distance of 418 ft., tied for the best average in the Majors this season (min. 10 HR).
He hit 6 home runs in a span of 5 games from June 18-23, including a 2-HR game on June 21 vs. St. Louis and another 2-HR game two days later on June 23 at Tampa Bay.
Among American League players age 23 or younger, his 14 home runs rank tied for 3rd, trailing only Junior Caminero (26) and Nick Kurtz (20).
Caglianone participated in the 2024 Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby. During his collegiate career at the University of Florida, he set the school’s single-season home run record (35) and the career record (75). He homered in 9 consecutive games from April 6-19, 2024, matching the N