THE AMERICAN OHTANI

I do not think Shohei Ohtani is the greatest player that ever lived. I believed that Shohei Ohtani was given a very unique opportunity to put him in a postion to be the greatest player that ever lived. Does that make sense? Because it should.  

Here in America, MLB players no longer have that shot to be 2-way guys. Meaning, when they come up through our baseball system, wherever they are, they are eventually made P.O.s (pitchers only) or give up pitching to become position players and hit.  And it's really that simple.  

Ohtani is a Japanese player that is a phenom and when he was able to post and negotiate contracts with Major League Teams, being a two way was part of his chip and he got it, and I'm positive many American ballplayers that were 2 ways up too and even in college were annoyed by the fact that maybe they could do it the same way. But quite simply, they were and are shunned from it, or had one of their strengths stripped of them to help build that college team into the powerhouse that college needed at the time.  And so, my point isn't radical or racist or anything like that. It comes down to common sense. Ohtani had the opportunity to do that. American players do not. 

When Sean Hard was drafted by the New York Yankees a few years ago, I thought "Now there's a kid that can easily do what Ohtani can do." I watched Hard play for years, all the way up through high school. My kid played with him around the same time and they'd cross paths. Every time we saw him, he was on top of his game, on the mound and in the batter's box.

 

He throws hard, dominates. When it comes to hitting, Hard didn't slow down.

But Hard chose college over the Yankees and you got to respect that. Here's the thing however, when he got the Boston College, they appear to have weened him from the batter's box and are keeping him only on the mound. And trust me, BC loves him:

"AS A FRESHMAN (2022) Pitched in 15 games, including nine starts, with a 0-5 record and 11.57 ERA... struck out 43 batters in 32.2 innings pitched... fanned seven in 4.1 innings in his debut at Austin Peay (2/19)... tossed three-scoreless innings with four strikeouts at USC Upstate (2/26)... struck out five in four innings of one-run ball against Louisville (3/26)... pitched three innings with four strikeouts at Notre Dame (5/1)."

No longer are the days of Hard being a 2 way guy and raking. And that's how the American system works. They see a strength and they work with it and to hell with what your talents really are. Now here's the thing, if that's what Hard wants, I support it, but if he doesn't, is that fair? Is it fair to not give him that opportunity... the same opportunity Ohtani had to shine?

Well look, I have news for you.  I got a text from my kid the other day. This is a kid that has his finger on the pulse when it comes to MLB, minor leagues and up and comers in college, being in college himself.  Bottom line, he knows all these guys and told me about a kid that I quote "have to keep my eye on". I said, "Why, what's up?"  He simply responded... "the next Ohtani."

My antenna went up. I actually thought to myself, is this a kid that the American baseball machine is going to give a shot to be a two-way player? Could it be a kid that they will let pitch AND hit?  I am crossing my fingers on this one.

His name is Jac Caglianone. He plays for the Florida Gators... and when you hear the word STUD, and you look around, he's the guy standing there.

Caglianone has already done a lot for Florida. And his highlight list is ridiculous and he's only a sophomore.

His most recent write up comes here from Sullivan Bortner:

"University of Florida first baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone has been named the SEC Co-Player of the Week on the heels of a 4-0 week and series sweep at No. 13 Ole Miss, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon.

This is the second SEC Player of the Week accolade of the season for Caglianone, who picks up honors alongside Vanderbilt's Parker Noland and LSU's Dylan Crews. Caglianone previously hauled in the award on Feb. 27 following Florida's series sweep of Cincinnati....

During Saturday's doubleheader against the Rebels, Caglianone blasted three home runs including one in each game. The two-way standout went deep again in Sunday's finale to finish with at least one home run in all three games of the series.

Caglianone also started on the mound for the Orange & Blue in game three. He did not factor into the decision, tossing 3 2/3 one-hit innings with three strikeouts."

So the question is, will the Gators allow this guy to continue on this amazing path to greatness as a two way. Or will the MLB upon draft day make this guy choose pitching or hitting as to claim "it's for the team's needs" but what they are really saying is "We only want Ohtani to be that player."

Yup, Caglianone is the real deal. Keep an eye on him, and watch what happens. I fear that they'll keep him down as to continue to prop up Ohtani, but they shouldn't... Caglianone is something super special.