If Jac Caglianone has any concern about facing Major League pitching, it sure wasn't showing on Tuesday.
And MLB's No. 20 prospect wasn't just facing any big leaguer -- he was staring down future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. The results: a pair of knocks as part of a three-hit game in Double-A Northwest Arkansas' 9-7 win over Tulsa on Tuesday at Arvest Ballpark.
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Kershaw was making his second rehab start as he returns from offseason left toe and knee injuries. The legendary Dodgers southpaw was effective overall, striking out four across three innings of one-run ball, but just could not figure out Caglianone.
The Royals' top prospect worked a 2-2 count in the first inning before ripping a fastball on the outer edge of the plate to the left-field wall on a bounce for a double. Kershaw again got to two strikes in the third, but Caglianone stung a low 3-2 fastball up the middle for a single.
The 22-year-old later reached three more times against fellow lefties. He was hit by a pitch and walked against Jackson Ferris (MLB No. 67) and singled to left off Ronan Kopp.
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Caglianone is no stranger to facing top-flight arms. Playing college ball for Florida in the SEC, he faced future first-rounders Hagen Smith, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Chase Dollander and Chase Burns -- and even homered off the latter.
Since the Royals drafted him sixth overall last July, Caglianone has gotten the chance to face a number of Major League pitchers. During Spring Training, he went a perfect 4-for-4 against the Reds' Hunter Greene (double and single) and the Brewers' Aaron Civale (home run) and Nestor Cortes Jr. (double).
Through 16 games at Double-A, the slugging first baseman tops the Texas League in RBIs (20) and stands in a three-way tie for the circuit lead in home runs (four) while slashing .288/.367/.515. And the way he's hitting, it may not be long before he gets to use that increasing confidence against big league pitchers on a full-time basis.