Jac Caglianone MLB Draft Projection: Where will the CWS-star Florida pitcher land?
Jac Caglianone turned himself into a household name throughout the college baseball season. He is like the American version of Shohei Ohtani as he is a two-way player that can really dominate offensively while also taking the mound and pitching a gem.
It is important to note that Caglianone is not eligible for the 2023 MLB Draft as he is not 21 years old nor has he played three years of college baseball. That means he will be returning to the Florida Gators for another crack at winning a College World Series.
But when he ends his collegiate career, there are going to be teams vying for his services on both sides of the game. What team is going to land Jac Caglianone?
How does the MLB Draft work?
In order to understand where Jac Caglianone is going to wind up beginning his professional career, it is crucial to understand how the MLB Draft works. The order of the draft is based on the previous year's standings. That means whatever team is going to take him is likely going to have the worst record in the 2023 season.
What teams will be in the Jac Caglianone sweepstakes?
There remains an entire half of this Major League Baseball left to play this season so there is the possibility that the standings drastically change. However, some of the worst teams are likely going to remain bad throughout the next three months.
The two teams that are most likely to land Jac Caglianone are the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals as neither one of those teams have a winning percentage above .280 as of this writing.
Caglianone is highly projected to be the first pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Teams are going to buy into his 33 home run season with a 1.126 OPS while also going to the mound and pitching to a 4.34 ERA over the course of 74.2 innings.
MLB teams will also note that Caglianone is able to go through the system as a two-way player and they can hone in on improving him at each stage, allowing more roster flexibility as well.
He certainly has the talent and ability to be the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. For now, he has to continue to show improvement on the mound.