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Former Florida Gator Jac Caglianone played a critical role in Team Italy's 8-6 upset win over Team USA at the World Baseball Classic Tuesday night.
Caglianone launched a two-run home run in the top of the fourth off Ryan Yarbrough to put Italy ahead 5-0. Yarbrough hung a sweeper in the zone, and Caglianone delivered a no-doubter that came off that bat at 110.4 mph — a 36.9 mph increase from the velocity of the pitch. The ball landed at least 10 rows back beyond the right field wall at Daikin Park in Texas, the home of the Houston Astros.
Caglianone is no stranger to hitting big home runs. He holds the Florida program record with 75 in just two and a half seasons while also tying an NCAA record by homering in nine-straight games. His .760 slugging percentage is also a program record.
The sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, Caglianone played just 95 games in the minor leagues before being called up by the Kansas City Royals. He struggled to adjust to major-league pitching, hitting just .157 over 232 plate appearances, but still managed to slug seven home runs.
Despite those struggles, Caglianone appears poised for a breakout year in 2026. Through six games in spring training, he's slashing .400/.550/.733 with 19 runs with a higher walk rate (25%) than strikeout rate (15%). In the WBC, he's slashing .500/.625/1.167, albeit over just seven plate appearances. Still, the clutch gene remains strong in Caglianone, and his home run on Tuesday helped decide what ended up being a two-run win.
Team Italy has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals in the WBC on Wednesday night with a win over Mexico.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Former Gator Jac Caglianone hits 2-run HR in WBC upset win over USA
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Caglianone launched a two-run home run in the top of the fourth off Ryan Yarbrough to put Italy ahead 5-0. Yarbrough hung a sweeper in the zone, and Caglianone delivered a no-doubter that came off that bat at 110.4 mph — a 36.9 mph increase from the velocity of the pitch. The ball landed at least 10 rows back beyond the right field wall at Daikin Park in Texas, the home of the Houston Astros.
Caglianone is no stranger to hitting big home runs. He holds the Florida program record with 75 in just two and a half seasons while also tying an NCAA record by homering in nine-straight games. His .760 slugging percentage is also a program record.
The sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, Caglianone played just 95 games in the minor leagues before being called up by the Kansas City Royals. He struggled to adjust to major-league pitching, hitting just .157 over 232 plate appearances, but still managed to slug seven home runs.
Despite those struggles, Caglianone appears poised for a breakout year in 2026. Through six games in spring training, he's slashing .400/.550/.733 with 19 runs with a higher walk rate (25%) than strikeout rate (15%). In the WBC, he's slashing .500/.625/1.167, albeit over just seven plate appearances. Still, the clutch gene remains strong in Caglianone, and his home run on Tuesday helped decide what ended up being a two-run win.
Team Italy has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals in the WBC on Wednesday night with a win over Mexico.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Former Gator Jac Caglianone hits 2-run HR in WBC upset win over USA
Continue reading...
