Kansas City Royals select Florida first baseman Jac Caglianone in 2024 MLB Draft

Jac Caglianone wrapped up his career with the Florida Gators as one of the best two-way players in college baseball history. And in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals just decided to select him with the No. 6 overall selection in the first round. Leading up to the draft, he was projected as a Top 5 overall selection by many services and ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect, according to MLB.com.

He recently guided the Florida Gators to the College World Series, shattering several school records in the process. The superstar recently set the program record in career home runs, when he launched the 75th long ball of his career against the Kentucky Wildcats in the College World Series.

He also became the first player in SEC history to post back-to-back seasons of 30 or more home runs. During the Gators’ impressive postseason run in 2024, Caglianone was his usual dominant self, going 16 for 36 at the plate (.444) with six home runs and 18 RBIs in just 11 NCAA Tournament games.

As a pitcher who could fire a 97 mile per hour fastball and blast a 500-foot home runs, the two-way star simply has done things on the baseball diamond that will be talked about for decades. The past two seasons as a pitcher, he’s gone 12-6 total, firing 170 total strikeouts while posting an ERA of 4.55. Not surprisingly, his work as a two-way star won him the 2024 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award.

He became the second Florida player to win the award since it began in 2010, joining 2012 winner Brian Johnson. Caglianone racked up an extensive number of accolades and honors in 2024, earning first team All-American honors from the NCBWA and winning first team All-SEC honors.

As a sophomore in 2023, he once again put up historic numbers. The Tampa native was named a Golden Spikes Award finalist, Dick Howser Trophy Finalist, and John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year finalist. Caglianone set the program and BBCOR era record with 33 home runs. He also set single-season program records with 90 RBIs and 208 total bases.

Though he’s done some pretty good work on the mound over the years, most scouts prefer his phenomenal power at the plate. In his scouting report on MLB.com, they mentioned this. “He has some standout tools both on the mound and at the plate, though big steps forward as a hitter this spring have led most scouts to prefer his left-handed bat over his left-handed arm.”