The Royals selected University of Florida two-way star Jac Caglianone with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday night. It’s worth noting that Caglianone was announced as a two-way player and will begin his playing career as both a hitter and a pitcher.
“I’m very thankful they’re giving me the opportunity to do both,” Caglianone said after the draft (via MLB.com). “I won’t let them down.”
Caglianone was recently ranked by CBS Sports as the No. 5 prospect in the draft class. Here’s what we wrote at the time:
Caglianone is the most fascinating player in the class, a freak show talent denied a better ranking by transferability concerns. He features big-time power from the left side, resulting in 62 home runs and multiple 120-plus mph exit velocities over the last two seasons. He swings at everything, but his feel for contact is such that he kept his strikeout rate to an Arraezian 8%. Zone management is also an issue on the mound, where a bloated 15.7% walk rate obscured his ability to touch into the upper-90s. Because he profiles as just a reliever in pro ball, it’s hard to see him remaining a two-way player all the way to the majors. In turn, that puts more pressure on his strength and bat-to-ball skills porting to the game’s highest levels. There’s a real chance that his approach deficiencies cause this whole thing to fall apart. But if he can make any kind of improvements on that front, he has the kind of unteachable skills that could allow him to develop into something along the lines of Yordan Alvarez with a walk allergy or a souped-up Anthony Santander.
CBS Sports also recently asked various front-office personnel for their thoughts on the possibility of Caglianone (or any other draftee) serving in a two-way capacity. You can read about the history of two-way players in MLB by clicking here.
Caglianone is the third first-round pick from the Gators in the last two years, joining outfielder Wyatt Langford (Rangers) and right-hander Hurston Waldrep (Braves).
