MAJOR League Baseball has one of its most intriguing prospects in recent memory entering this year’s draft.
Since the emergence of Shohei Ohtani, no player has been able to replicate his two-way dominance, but one could be on the horizon.
3
Jac Caglianone, an all-star at the University of Florida, has a chance to be the next successful two-way player in MLB.
The 21-year-old is certainly the biggest name in this year’s draft, regardless of whether he is picked first overall.
He earned the nickname “Jactani” due to his resemblance to Ohtani on the field.
It’s hard to project someone as the next Ohtani, because there has never been anyone like Ohtani.
Even Babe Ruth competed as a two-way player for only a few seasons, pitching in just 163 of his 2,503 games.
Ohtani has played in 86 games in his seven seasons, missing only 2019 and the current one.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has a career 3.01 ERA and .935 OPS, so is there any way Caglianone can come close?
Caglianone is statistically a decent pitcher, having a slightly inflated ERA but still solid peripheral numbers.
In two seasons as a pitcher, he had a 4.55 ERA in 34 games with 170 strikeouts.
His main problem on the mound is his free pass, walking 105 batters in his two years.
Scouts are still extremely excited about Caglianone’s stuff, giving him a 70 fastball on the 20-80 scale.
His pitching talent is projected as a second or third rounder because of his 100 mph fastball.
Caglianone’s control is still an issue, but it’s something that should improve as MLB develops.
When talking about him and another two-way prospect, Konnor Griffin, an MLB scout said they would still get drafted even if they never hit.
“If both of them had never touched a bat in their lives, they would still be in the top 50 picks as pitchers,” an MLB scout told ESPN.
The fact is that Caglianone hit back and did extremely well at it.
The Florida star was one of the best hitters in the country, crushing 35 home runs and hitting .419.
Five Major MLB Rule Changes in 2024
1. The pitch clock is reduced from 20 to 18 seconds with runners on base. It will remain at 15 seconds with the bases empty.
2. When a pitching change is made, the inning clock will reset to 2:00 instead of 2:15 as happened last year.
3. Teams will only be able to visit four mounds per game in 2024, compared to five last season.
4. Defenders and defenders blocking bases will be called for obstruction.
5. The runners’ lane from home plate to first base has been widened to include the dirt between the grass and the white line.
He also walked 58 times thanks to 31 intentional passes.
Caglianone can still work on his pitch selection, as despite having an extremely low 8% strikeout rate, his chase rate is nearly 40%.
MLB scouts believe he can lower those numbers, but it depends on his approach.
“Projecting him to improve his pitch selection really depends on understanding what he’s thinking right now,” one scout told ESPN.
“We’ve talked to players who have approaches that we would never imagine, being told to never bat on this pitch, or always bat on this count.
“So you have to start there and see if there’s a small change that can have a big effect.”
Caglianone will be selected in the top five picks on draft day, but there’s a good chance the Cleveland Guardians will take a chance on Ohtani next with the No. 1 overall pick.
3
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
