5 collegiate prospects to follow for the Cleveland Guardians at the top of the MLB Draft

3. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida

There might not be a more well known name in college baseball than Jac Caglianone. A 6-foot-5, two-way player for Florida, the possibilities are endless for what Caglianone could bring to any organization, especially the Cleveland Guardians at the top of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Caglianone is an interesting candidate to consider here. Given the pitching factory that is the Cleveland organization and Caglianone's already-established ability to play both sides of the game, it's hard to not imagine a Shohei Ohtani-type opportunity here.

The list of accolades for Caglianone is far from short. In 2023, he was a unanimous First Team All-American and was named the ABCA National Position Player of the Year. Before the 2024 campaign, Perfect Game listed him as their Preseason Two-Way Player of the Year. So far, he's lived up to the hype.

Starting on the mound, Caglianone has been nothing but impressive. In 10 starts, he's posted a 10-0 record for the Gators, striking out 58 batters over 48.1 innings of work with just four home runs allowed. He's improved his control, bringing his walks down from last year, so far, and over two seasons has held opposing batters to an average of just .200. His ERA this year is posted at 4.10 after a 4.34 mark a season ago. While baseball purists will wince at those numbers, trust me when I say that's pretty good for college baseball. How we used to view a 3.00 ERA in baseball is now how most view a 5.00 in college baseball, so a 4.10 ERA is solid.

Moving to the plate, this is Caglianone's strength. Literally. Over the last two seasons, he's hit 59 home runs over 115 games while racking up 143 RBI. On top of that, he's added 16 doubles and a pair of triples while drawing 46 walks and being hit by a pitch 23 times. He's improved his strikeout numbers as well, striking out just 16 times so far this year while raising his batting average to .402.

It's rather difficult to find flaws in Caglianone's game. He doesn't have speed, just five career stolen bases at Florida, but the power bat combined with the ability on the mound is definitely intriguing. To me, he's more of a first baseman than a pitcher at the Major League level, but there is clearly the possibility to do both.