Florida Professional Athletes

Two former Gators swinging the hottest bats in their respective dugouts. That's the Florida alumni story of the week in MLB — and it's a good one.

Caglianone Goes Supernova in KC

Jac Caglianone delivered the kind of game that gets replayed on highlight loops for weeks. The Kansas City Royals outfielder went 5-for-6 with a home run and a career-high six RBIs in a 13-2 blowout of the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, Aug. 27 — the most dominant offensive performance of his young MLB career. He didn't stop there, adding two more hits in each of his next two appearances (Friday and Saturday) to finish the week batting .285. From a guy who was still learning pro ball not long ago, Caglianone is looking increasingly like a middle-of-the-order force. The Royals won the Blue Jays series 2-1, with Caglianone as the clearest difference-maker.

Alonso Powers Baltimore — Then Limbers Into Concern

Pete Alonso had a week that was equal parts electric and nerve-wracking for Orioles fans. The veteran first baseman torched the St. Louis Cardinals across back-to-back showings: a four-hit, one-homer, four-RBI effort in a 13-1 rout Tuesday, then added his 32nd home run of the season and two more RBIs in an 8-7 edge-of-your-seat win Wednesday. Baltimore took the Cardinals series convincingly, with Alonso serving as the engine.

Then came the subplot. Alonso exited the 13-1 blowout early with what was described as a calf issue, and Orioles manager Craig Albernaz did little to calm nerves — snapping at a reporter who pressed him on the injury during the postgame presser. By Saturday, Alonso was still in the lineup but drew only a walk in a 2-2 tie against the Athletics. The calf concern remains a low-grade storyline worth watching as Baltimore pushes through the stretch run. Alonso's season average sits at .272.

The Rest of the Gator Roster

The Florida alumni footprint across MLB is wide, and a few others made noise this week.

Wyatt Langford had a strong stretch for the Texas Rangers, homering in Monday's 11-2 win over the White Sox and reaching base consistently throughout the week with multiple multi-hit performances. He finished the week batting .257 after hitting .251 entering Sunday.

Jacob Young continued to do enough to keep himself in the Washington Nationals' starting lineup — no small feat given the organization's touted prospects waiting in the wings. The center fielder made a jaw-dropping Spider-Man catch against the Marlins on Sunday, scaling the outfield wall to rob Heriberto Hernández of a home run and doubling off the baserunner to complete a highlight-reel double play. He hit .247 on the week and, per reporting, has managed to hold off competition for his roster spot with plays like that one.

Christian Scott hit a wall for the Mets on Friday night, issuing three straight walks in the sixth inning against the Astros and unraveling in what became a 3-1 loss. His ERA ticked up to 3.80, though his 4-3 record suggests there's still a quality arm underneath the rough outing. Manager Andy Green called it a "learning experience."

The Gator pipeline is deep, and this week proved it — from Caglianone's career-best breakout to Alonso's power surge and the defensive wizardry of Young. Florida alumni are everywhere in August baseball, and most of them are making their presence felt.

Pete Alonso gave Baltimore something to scream about — and not in a good way.

The Florida Gator first baseman was at the center of the week's biggest controversy when his towering seventh-inning drive off the left-field foul pole at Yankee Stadium was ruled foul on Wednesday, Aug. 20. The call stood after umpire review, the Orioles lost, and the fallout was immediate. Alonso didn't mince words afterward. "We have all the technology," he said, calling out MLB's failure to deploy better foul pole detection systems. The Orioles organization backed him publicly, formally demanding that the league adopt updated foul pole technology — similar to the automated ball-strike system already in use — to prevent a repeat.

MLB issued a statement on the call but stopped short of committing to any rule change. The episode landed in the broader conversation about whether baseball's replay infrastructure has kept pace with its ambitions. For Alonso, it was a gut punch in a week that had started with promise: he homered in Monday's win over the Rays and went 2-for-4 with two RBI in Sunday's series opener, carrying a .266 average into the Yankees series.

He didn't stop producing despite the furor. On Friday, Alonso went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in a 5-3 win over Tampa Bay, and added two more hits Saturday as Baltimore swept the Rays' weekend slate. His average climbed back to .273 by week's end — a reminder that the disputed call cost the Orioles more than just a narrative win.

Caglianone Logs Numbers, Exits Early

Jac Caglianone had a productive week in Kansas City before an injury scare threatened to derail things. The Royals outfielder went 3-for-3 with two RBI on Monday and followed it with two more hits Tuesday. He was hit by a pitch Wednesday and later exited a game with an apparent injury, though he returned to the lineup by Saturday, going 1-for-2 with a run scored in a 5-2 win over the Tigers. He finished the week hitting .277.

Langford and Painter Contribute Quietly

Wyatt Langford had a steady week for the Rangers, picking up multiple hits Wednesday and delivering a go-ahead RBI in a 2-1 extra-innings win over the Angels on Saturday — a game the Rangers won after a costly Angels throwing error in the 10th. Langford finished the week at .250.

Andrew Painter turned in arguably the strongest pitching line of any Gator this week, going seven innings against the Cardinals on Saturday and allowing just one earned run while striking out eight. After a rough stretch, the performance pushed his ERA down to 6.04 — still a work in progress, but a step in the right direction.

Christian Scott started Saturday for the Mets against the White Sox, working 4.2 innings with six strikeouts and four earned runs. He had been sharper in his Aug. 16 start against the Nationals — 6.1 innings, seven punchouts, three earned — and sits at a 3.73 ERA on the season.

The week belonged to Alonso, though. When the dust settles on the 2026 season, that disputed home run off the Yankee Stadium foul pole may be remembered as the moment that finally forced MLB's hand on foul pole technology. Or it won't be — and Alonso will have another reason to be annoyed.

Two Gators are making noise across the American League this week, and neither is showing any signs of cooling off.

Caglianone Is the Hottest Hitter Nobody's Talking About Enough

Jac Caglianone has been an absolute force for the Kansas City Royals this week, putting together one of the most eye-catching stretches of any rookie in baseball. The right fielder went 3-for-4 with a homer and five RBIs in Saturday's 7-6 win over the Angels, capping a week that included a two-homer, four-RBI performance against the Cubs and another multi-hit effort against the Dodgers on Tuesday — a game in which he also went deep and knocked in three.

The week's centerpiece may have been Saturday. According to Yahoo Sports, no Royal hitter has had a night quite like his on that Saturday in Kansas City history, a remarkable statement for a franchise with nearly a century of baseball behind it. FanSided's comparison to Yordan Alvarez — the most dominant offensive force in the game — is the kind of hype that usually outruns reality. In Caglianone's case this week, the numbers at least made the argument worth having. He finished the period hitting .273 and climbing, with multi-hit games in four of the six contests tracked.

The Royals have been winning behind him too. Kansas City took down the Cubs 6-3, edged the Angels 7-6, and went toe-to-toe with the Dodgers across a three-game set. Caglianone has been the engine throughout.

Alonso Rewrites His Own Script in Baltimore

Pete Alonso's week was equally compelling, though it came with a wrinkle no one saw coming: the former Mets slugger batted leadoff for the first time in his professional career on Friday against the Rays. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde slotted Alonso at the top of the order, and the Florida product didn't flinch. Alonso himself drew a comparison to Kyle Schwarber — a fellow power-first first baseman who reinvented himself as a leadoff threat in Philadelphia — when asked about the decision after the game.

The results backed him up. Alonso went 2-for-4 on Friday, then followed it with a 3-for-4, one-homer, one-RBI performance on Saturday. That came after one of the week's signature individual performances: a three-homer, four-RBI, three-run Sunday against the Rangers on August 9 — a showing that jump-started what became a sustained tear. Across the full period, Alonso slashed his way from .252 to .264 with consistent multi-hit efforts and multiple home runs, giving Baltimore an unexpected jolt at the top of a lineup that clearly needed one.

Around the Rest of the Gator Nation

Jacob Young continued a strong season for the Nationals, collecting multi-hit games three times during the stretch, including a homer and RBI on Tuesday against the Cubs. He drove in two runs in Washington's 7-1 rout of the Reds and finished the week at .251. The Nationals have won four of their last five games, and Young has been a quiet piece of that resurgence.

Wyatt Langford had a quieter week at the plate for Texas, going hitless in two games and collecting just one hit in three others, though he drew multiple walks and finished at .250. Brady Singer gave the Reds a serviceable outing Saturday — six innings, four strikeouts, three earned runs — as he works through what has been a rocky second half. Christian Scott started Monday's Mets-Braves game, lasting four innings and striking out six in a rough outing.

The headliners, though, are unmistakable. Florida produced the two most compelling stories of the week in the American League, and both are far from finished.

Jac Caglianone had the kind of Saturday that makes scouts look smart. The Kansas City Royals outfielder went 4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBI, and two runs scored against the Cubs on August 8 — a performance that anchored what was a notably strong week for Florida Gators alumni across Major League Baseball.

Caglianone Carries Kansas City

Caglianone's explosion wasn't a one-day wonder. The former Gator slugger also drove in two runs against the Twins on August 6 and went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the series opener on August 4. By the end of the week, he had pushed his average to .264 — a steady climb for one of the most anticipated power bats to come out of Gainesville in years. Across the week, Caglianone tallied multiple hits and seven RBI, cementing himself as Kansas City's most dangerous young bat.

Alonso and the Orioles Keep Rolling

Pete Alonso continued his quiet, productive stretch in Baltimore. The first baseman collected hits in multiple games throughout the week — including a two-run single on August 4 in the Orioles' win over the Angels — and finished the period hitting .247. Alonso has settled into Baltimore's lineup as a reliable middle-of-the-order presence, and his two-run single against Los Angeles was a decisive blow in that series opener.

Gator teammate Wyatt Langford had a respectable week of his own for the Rangers, reaching base via hit or walk in three separate games and scoring a run on August 8 in Texas's 2-1 win over Baltimore.

On the Mound

Christian Scott gave Mets fans something to feel good about, taking the ball against the Guardians on August 5 and delivering five innings of three-run ball with seven strikeouts. At a 3.15 ERA, Scott remains one of the more reliable young starters in New York's rotation.

Brady Singer turned in a quality start for Cincinnati on August 4, going six innings against the Athletics and striking out six while allowing three earned runs in the Reds' 5-4 win. The outing was a stabilizing one for Singer, who has been a consistent presence in Cincinnati's rotation.

Brandon Sproat had the week's roughest outing among Gator arms. The Brewers starter lasted just three innings against the Pirates on August 3, surrendering four runs and striking out four as Milwaukee fell 4-3. Sproat's ERA climbed to 5.27 on the season following the rough showing.

Chase Petty made a spot start for Cincinnati on August 7 in the absence of Hunter Greene, covering 1.2 innings. Shaun Anderson pitched out of the Angels' bullpen across multiple appearances, including a solid two-inning, three-strikeout outing on August 5.

Also Worth Noting

Jacob Young provided steady production for Washington, putting together multi-hit games on August 5 and August 6 while driving in a run on Saturday. Danny Young made appearances out of Atlanta's bullpen, punching out three in one inning on August 8 — though he allowed an earned run in the process.

It was the kind of week that reminds Florida fans how deep the Gators' pipeline into professional baseball runs — and Caglianone's Saturday made sure no one could look away.