While the Kansas City Royals continue to play baseball at spring training, a number of their stars are competing in the World Baseball Classic. One of those players is Jac Caglianone, who played a crucial role in helping Team Italy upset Team USA 8-6 on Tuesday night.

Caglianone is known as one of the better young players in the sport. He features an especially high ceiling. He was batting seventh in Italy's lineup on Tuesday, but made one of the biggest impacts in the entire game. 

The 23-year-old outfielder went 2-3 with two RBI, two runs scored and a walk. He also hit a big home run in the 4th inning to help build Team Italy's lead.

Italy needed all of the runs they could get. The USA lineup is elite, so Italy knew they could not afford to take their foot off the gas. The ball club ended up taking an 8-0 lead into the bottom of the 6th inning. Team USA answered with six total runs over the last four innings of the ball game, but that obviously was not enough to complete the comeback.

Team Italy's upset was historic. This USA squad has been called a "Dream Team" given its plethora of stars. Any ball club that features Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr. and Paul Skenes on the same roster is often going to be the favorite. Yet, it was Jac Caglianone and Team Italy who stole the show on Tuesday night in Houston.

Caglianone has only played in two of Italy's three games, but he has made the most of the opportunity while on the field. The left-handed slugger is slashing .500/.625/1.167 across six at-bats.

The Royals believe in Caglianone's power from the left side of the plate. He is still developing overall as a hitter, but in 2025 Caglianone crushed seven home runs in only 62 games played with Kansas City.

Team Italy can book their ticket to the next round of the WBC with a win over Team Mexico on Wednesday. If they lose, then tiebreaker rules will determine which two teams advance between Italy, Mexico and the USA.

Italy's game against Mexico is scheduled for 7 PM EST on Wednesday night. Jac Caglianone will once again do everything he can to help his team earn a fourth consecutive World Baseball Classic win.