The Kansas City Royals have made an exciting move by inviting top prospect Jac Caglianone to their major league Spring Training camp, as reported by MLB.com's Anne Rogers. This news brings a lot of anticipation, especially for those of us who have been fans of Jac for quite some time.
Look, we here at Bleeding Yankee Blue have been following Jac Caglianone's journey closely. We previously wrote about him when we dubbed him THE AMERICAN OHTANI back in 2023. Back then we firmly believed that Jac has the potential to excel as a two-way player in the major leagues, much like Shohei Ohtani. Obviously, the Royals don't want that, but my point was, why did Ohtani get special treatment when we have incredible guys like Jac doing the same thing and totally capable of doing it in the pros. Anyway, the point of this post? Just to remind BYB who this guy is. He's a stud plain and simple. You know us, once in a while we like to share different stuff with our BYB audience and remind you that we do this for you. Bottom line? Jac could become game-changer in the majors.
Caglianone, the Royals' first pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, went No. 6 overall and secured a $7.5 million signing bonus. Coming from the University of Florida, he is currently ranked as the No. 1 prospect in Kansas City's farm system and the No. 17 overall prospect in all of baseball. The last time the Royals invited their most recent first-round pick to Spring Training was in 2006 with Alex Gordon. Being compared to such solid company shows just how special Jac is.
Though Caglianone was the best two-way player in college, for 2025, he will focus solely on hitting, wielding a bat with elite raw power. He might start the season at Double-A, but if he stays healthy, he’ll likely be on a fast track to the big leagues.
We can't wait to see Jac Caglianone in the Royals' lineup soon, and we’re confident he will make a significant impact. Stay tuned, BYB readers, as we continue to track this rising star's journey to the top.
We love Homer Bush over here at Bleeding Yankee Blue. We interviewed him back in 2011, and it was a really good chat and since then he's been part of the fam over here... like Steve Karsay, like David Robertson, like Laura and Jorge Posada... even like our guy Pete Caldera.
These are the names that helped build this brand into the cult classic Yankees blog it is today. Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: HOMER BUSH for more on Homer.
But more to that... let's talk about Homer and his kid. I saw Homer post this on Twitter and I have to say, as a kid that still plays baseball as well, when your kid does great stuff on the baseball field, you gotta share it. Seeing Homer's post made me proud:
Now look, there are a ton of great college players out there. As you know I just recently wrote about Jac Caglianone in THE AMERICAN OHTANI.
We love college guys with real ability. This is the MLB's future. It's awesome.
Homer Bush Jr plays for Grand Canyon Baseball as you can see. He's a junior. .321 average as we speak right now, and from last year, 2022 with only 7 stolen bases... he's jump to 23 in 2023. Quite impressive.
I just want to say congrats to the Bush family. Gotta love the moments!
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.
"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.
