Royals sign No. 6 pick

The Royals announced the signing of sixth overall pick Jac Caglianone. Bonus terms were not disclosed. The selection comes with a slot value of roughly $7.21M.

Caglianone is a two-way player from the University of Florida. His higher upside professionally is as a position player. Caglianone topped 30 home runs in each of his final two seasons in Gainesville. He hit 35 longballs — second among Division I hitters behind No. 3 pick Charlie Condon’s 37 — with a .419/.544/.875 slash line as a junior. Caglianone walked at an 18.4 percent clip while striking out only 8.2 percent of the time. He has top-of-the-scale raw power that gives him the chance to hit in the middle of a lineup.

Nevertheless, pre-draft scouting reports raised some questions about his pure hitting ability. Baseball America and The Athletic’s Keith Law each pointed to concerns about Caglianone’s chase rate as well as a tendency to get pull-oriented in his swing. Caglianone is likely limited to first base defensively, so he’ll need to hit a lot to provide value.

He’s not as highly regarded as a pitching prospect. While he can run his fastball into the upper 90s, his subpar control points to a bullpen future. It seems likely the Royals will prioritize his offensive development in the hope that he moves quickly and establishes himself as a 30-plus home run hitter.