KC Royals just threw a high-powered wrench in Guardians' postseason plans

Last season, the Kansas City Royals surprised all of baseball by earning a postseason berth one year after winning just 56 games in 2023. 

And while the Royals have been able to stay in the postseason hunt this year despite having one of the worst offenses in baseball. 

But they took a move toward moving past that offensive complacency on Sunday by calling up top prospect Jac Caglianone from Triple-A. 

It’s a move that could end up dictating whether the Guardians make the postseason or not.

KC Royals just threw a high-powered wrench in Guardians' playoff plans

While the Royals’ offense has been subpar this year, it’s actually been better than Cleveland’s. The Royals have a -7 run differential this season; the Guardians -16. 

And now the Royals have added one of the best power hitting prospects in baseball. 

Caglianone’s hit .322 with 15 home runs and 56 RBI across 50 games in the minors, and hit .319 in 12 games in Triple-A before his promotion.

The Royals picked him with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Florida.

After preaching patience with Caglianone, the Royals called him up as their season is about to hit a crossroad, and had him take the roster spot of outfielder Dairon Blanco, who is more of a speedster than offensive threat. 

The Royals have only scored 194 runs this year, which is tied for the second-lowest mark in baseball with the Rockies. 

They only have three players who have hit 5+ home runs this year, and two lineup regulars (Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia) with an OPS+ above 100. 

The Guardians can’t really pull that kind of power from the minor leagues right now. 

Travis Bazzana’s one of the best hitting prospects in baseball, but he’s on the injured list and has an offensive profile based around contact, not power. 

The same can be said for Chase DeLauter (hurt) and Juan Brito (contact approach). Their one ace in the hole might be C.J. Kayfus, who mashed 17 home runs last season and recently moved into MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. 

But it still doesn’t change the fact the Guardians now have more to worry about their division. 

They entered play on Tuesday with a 32-26 record despite having a negative run differential and an expected win-loss of 27-31. But finding success that runs contrary to their projections is nothing new to the Guardians. 

It was hard to take the Royals offense seriously since it had only generated 194 runs, but now they’ve added a player who is shaping up to be a generational talent. 

That move all but confirms the Royals are going to be in the postseason hunt all season. And it’s not like the Twins or Tigers are going anywhere. Last year the American league Central produced three postseason teams and it seems like that’s going to be the case again this year. 

The Guardians will need to work hard to make sure they’re one of them.