Caglianone, Jensen representing Royals well in Fall League

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KANSAS CITY -- The Arizona Fall League is wrapping up another season this week, and once again Royals prospects are part of a successful Surprise team. The Saguaros -- made up of players in the Kansas City, Baltimore, Cleveland, Houston and Texas organizations -- finished 18-10 and will play in the AFL Championship on Saturday.

The Kansas City contingent is headlined by two top hitting prospects in Jac Caglianone (MLB Pipeline’s No. 17 prospect) and Carter Jensen (No. 5 in the Royals’ system).

Caglianone has simply smoked some balls, whether it was the double he hit in the AFL Fall Stars Game or the home run he hit at Camelback Ranch that never seemed to land. Caglianone, the slugging first baseman the Royals drafted No. 6 overall this past summer, has five home runs, four doubles and 21 RBIs in 21 games with a .749 OPS.

“We knew when we acquired him that this was elite power and impact on the baseball,” director of player development Mitch Maier said. “But I think what wows a lot of us is you don’t typically see players come into professional baseball and impact the ball like that as early on as he has. Usually, they need more physical development or the adjustment that takes place with the transition to wooden bats. There are usually factors to where it takes players a little bit to hit balls like that. So that stands out with him, just the physicality that you don’t normally see until you get to the Major Leagues or close to it.

“We’ve definitely seen the power on display. He’s driving the ball to all fields with that authority, and you just don’t see that every day. That makes us really excited. He’s a special talent.”

It’s been a long year for Caglianone, from wrapping up his college career at the College World Series with Florida to the Draft to making his debut in professional ball. The Royals sent him to the AFL to get as many at-bats as possible to give him a good foundation for next season. They’ve already seen minor adjustments -- like his stance narrowing just a bit -- help him with swing decisions.

Jensen didn’t slow down this year when he moved up from High-A Quad Cities to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, and it continued down in Arizona. With four catchers on the Surprise roster, Jensen hasn’t had a ton of playing time, but he’s made the most of every opportunity, hitting four homers in 12 games with a 1.382 OPS.

With the way his game has progressed, the 21-year-old Jensen has not only solidified himself as one of the top hitters in the Royals’ system, but also could seriously be knocking on the door of Kansas City soon.

“Carter has continued to take strides forward, and he’s done a great job maintaining that swing throughout the Fall League,” Maier said. “Every opportunity he’s had, he’s been able to go out and continue to produce and keep his swing in a really good spot."

Other Fall League standouts include:

• RHP Luinder Avila: The No. 26 prospect missed time this year with an injury, so he’s in Surprise making up innings. Avila made the Fall Stars roster with a 3.07 ERA across five games (three starts) and 14 2/3 innings, with eight walks and 17 strikeouts. Avila is Rule 5 eligible this year but hasn’t established himself above the Double-A level, so it’s unclear yet whether the Royals might protect him by adding him to the 40-man roster.
• RHP Anthony Simonelli: An underrated reliever when it comes to internal options who might help the Royals soon, Simonelli’s 0.00 ERA in the Fall League certainly jumps off the page. The 25-year-old has only pitched eight innings, but he’s limited opponents to just four hits and one unearned run, along with three walks and eight strikeouts. Simonelli is also eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.