Jac Goes Jackin'

Jac Caglianone put up a monster performance in game two of the Cubs series

I’m guessing most readers of the Royals Weekly Substack watch the games. Even now, when the Royals are a bajillion games out of contention, I imagine the die hards are tuning in. So, you probably saw Jac Caglianone’s four-for-four, two double, two-home run performance from last night.

Obviously, it was impressive. Hell, for someone to put four balls in play all 104.9 MPH or harder is impressive. For all four to be hit at an optimal launch angle is even more so.

Of course, it was in a meaningless game, but it does tie in with something I’ve been considering lately, as Mike and I have our back-and-forths about which area of the team needs the most attention this off-season.

This offense hits the ball hard. A lot. Baseball analyst Thomas Nestico put out a graphic yesterday of team hard hit rates. The Royals were second in all of baseball in hard hit rate. But, clearly, that hasn’t translated to runs, as they’re only 22nd in runs per game (4.15).

Lately, I’ve been contending that the offense doesn’t need major attention this off-season. The pitching does. I’m going to use this data to show why.

Note: This Substack exists to enhance the experience of Royals fan, but running a podcast and newsletter isn’t free or easy. It requires equipment, subscriptions, software, time, etc. Subscribers who support us financially support our ability to pay for all that stuff and expand our coverage. We’re not some big corporation; we’re two guys who devote a lot of time and energy to producing this content. Just $5 a month goes a long way. So, please, consider becoming a paid subscriber; it helps a lot.