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Jac Caglianone, OF, Royals: Caglianone had gone homerless in his first 13 MLB games. He ended that brief power slump in emphatic fashion on Thursday with a pair of home runs to help the Royals beat the Rangers.

Caglianone's first came on a Jacob Latz fastball well above the strike zone. He followed it with a second home run on a slider low in the zone from Robert Garcia. That second home run traveled an estimated 439 feet, making it the third longest home run of the Royals' season. Its 110.2 mph exit velocity was the Royals' fourth-hardest homer this season. But neither were particularly remarkable for Caglianone, who has top-of-the-scale raw power. In his brief time in Triple-A Caglianone hit a pair of home runs that were hit harder and a pair of home runs that were hit farther, including a 459-foot homer.

Caglianone is hitting .218/.232/.364 in the majors.

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics: Kurtz has had a remarkable week. The 22-year-old hit a two-run walk-off homer to dead center field Thursday off a 96-mph Josh Hader fastball to help the A's beat the Astros 6-4 in extras. It was Kurtz's ninth homer of the season and fourth in his last five games. Kurtz also hit a walk-off homer in a 3-1 win over the Astros on Monday, and a go-ahead ninth-inning homer in a 3-2 win over the Royals on Sunday. The hulking first baseman has been on a power tear since returning from a hip flexor strain and owns a .965 OPS in June. Kurtz's winner Thursday night was his 131st career big league at-bat, meaning he has now officially exhausted prospect eligibility.

Carlos Lagrange, RHP, Yankees: When he's right, Lagrange has the best stuff in the Yankees' system. His fastball hits triple-digits as often as some people visit Starbucks. His slider snaps away from bats and draws silly swings. On Thursday, he was at his very best. Facing New Hampshire in his third start since moving to Double-A, Lagrange punched out a career-best 12 hitters over 5.1 innings. The 20 whiffs he induced were the most in the classification. The outing followed two clunkers—he allowed eight earned runs over 10 innings—and brings him to 20 strikeouts in 15.1 upper-level innings.

Hector Rodriguez, OF, Reds: Three years ago, the Reds sent Tyler Naquin and Phillip Diehl to the Mets for two prospects: Righthander Jose Acuna and Rodriguez. The latter posted an outstanding game on Thursday. Facing Rocket City, Rodriguez slammed a pair of home runs as part of a 3-for-4 day. The longballs were Rodriguez's eighth and ninth of the year, and both came off of talented Angels righthander George Klassen, a trade acquisition himself. In his first test at the upper levels, Rodriguez is hitting .299/.362/.481.

Luis Lara, OF, Brewers: Lara—who opened the year as the second-youngest player in the Southern League—picked an opportune time to have the best game of his career. The center fielder went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk and two runs. The effort helped boost Biloxi to the first-half title in the Southern League's South Division. It was the first four-hit of Lara's career since 2023, when he did it twice as a member of Low-A Carolina.

Tyson Lewis, SS, Reds: Lewis has caught people's attention thanks to gaudy exit velocities for someone so early in his pro career. On Thursday, two of those hard-hit balls went over fences. Both his homers produced exit velocities of greater than 99 mph, and one left the bat at 106.5 mph and traveled a projected 405 feet. The blasts were Lewis' second and third of the year, but neither was his hardest-hit ball of the day. That title belonged to his third-inning single, which came with an EV of 110.5 mph.

Editor’s Picks

Modern MLB Players Are Better: J.J. Cooper gives five reasons why the data shows current big leaguers are far better than players from a generation ago. Read more…

Draft Preview: One of our favorite issues of the year is here! Our annual Draft Preview is now available for preorder, and we’re including a free bonus issue for anyone who buys it from us directly. More details here…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Each day, we’ll pick a prospect that has our attention.

Jhonny Level, SS, Giants: The Giants' club in the Arizona Complex League is replete with prospects. One of the best is Jhonny Level, a shortstop with a polished, well-rounded game who was the centerpiece of their international last January. On Thursday, he added two more home runs to his ledger in his team's loss to the Reds. The 18-year-old now has seven longballs on the season, vaulting him over Texas' Devin Fitz-Gerald for the league lead. In all, Level is hitting .293/.384/.537 with 15 extra-base hits. Both of his homers produced exit velocities of greater than 106 mph, and his loudest bolt clocked in at 111.8 mph and traveled a projected 354 feet. Both home runs came against changeups.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Yankees RHP Cam Schlittler, who we identified yesterday as a helium pick, struck out nine batters over five innings of two-run ball yesterday in Triple-A.

• D-backs RHP Daniel Eagen continues to rack up the strikeouts. Their 2024 third-rounder now owns 80 strikeouts in 56 innings for High-A Hillsboro to go along with a 3.05 ERA, although his walk rate is hovering around 11%.

• Edgar Montero (A’s), Joshua Baez (Cardinals) and Lazaro Montes (Mariners) also turned in two-homer days. It’s a continued resurgence for Baez, a 2021 second-rounder, who has a 1.086 OPS in 18 games since his promotion to Double-A Springfield.

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