- Full name Jeffrey Alan Caglianone
- Born 02/09/2003 in Tampa, FL
- Profile Ht.: 6'5" / Wt.: 217 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School Plant
-
Drafted in the 1st round (6th overall) by the Kansas City Royals in 2024 (signed for $7,500,000).
View Draft Report
School: Florida
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.4
BA Grade: 60/Extreme
Tools: Hit: 50. Power: 70. Run: 40. Field: 50. Arm: 60. Fastball: 60. Slider: 50. Changeup: 55. Cutter: 50. Control: 40.
In terms of pure talent, it will be hard for any player in the 2024 class to match what Caglianone brings to the table. He’s a massive presence with a 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame and is one of the better college two-way players since Louisville’s Brendan McKay. Caglianone led the country with 33 home runs as a sophomore in 2023, then put together a second straight 30-plus homer season in 2024, when he also drastically improved his strikeout and walk rates. After striking out 18% of the time in his first two seasons, Caglianone cut that mark to 8.1% in 2024, while tripling his walk rate up to 16.8%. He has astounding raw power and some of the best top-end exit velocities in the country. Despite 80-grade raw power and the ability to homer to all fields with ease, Caglianone will need to improve his swing decisions and pure hitting ability to maximize that juice in games. He has a steep, uphill swing, and his lower half consistently leaks to his pull side. His 43% career chase rate is one of the most aggressive marks of top 2024 college hitters. Caglianone’s upside is greater as a lefthanded slugger, but he’s also been an effectively wild starter for Florida for two years. He features a low-90s sinking fastball that touches 98-99 mph and a pair of average secondaries with a low-80s changeup and low-to-mid-80s slider/cutter. His below-average control creates reliever risk. Caglianone has the power to lead the league in home runs, a la Pete Alonso, who, like Caglianone, is a product of Tampa’s Plant High and UF.
Top Rankings
Draft Prospects
-
School: Florida Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.4
In terms of pure talent, it will be hard for any player in the 2024 class to match what Caglianone brings to the table. A 6-foot-5, 245-pound lefthanded hitter and lefthanded pitcher, Caglianone led the country with 33 home runs during the 2023 season as a middle-of-the-order hitter behind Wyatt Langford and also posted a 4.34 ERA as Florida’s Sunday starter in 74.2 total innings. He has gargantuan raw power that earns double-plus grades currently, with the bat speed and strength projection to get to top-of-the-scale grades in the future. On the mound, he averaged 94-95 mph last spring and can get his fastball up to 99 mph. Given his natural tools and ability, Caglianone has perhaps the highest pure upside in the class with legitimate two-way potential in pro ball, but his flaws on both sides of the ball give him wide error bars and also make him a polarizing prospect in the industry. Caglianone’s swing is lengthy and steep, which helps him put the ball in the air frequently, but also leads to holes that pitchers can exploit. His 18% career strikeout rate with Florida is actually quite tame, and more than reasonable for a 30+ home run hitter, but his overall swing decisions and chase rates (44% between the 2022 and 2023 seasons) need to improve in order for him to maximize his power against pro pitching. On the mound, Caglianone is a below-average strike thrower who will need to improve his fastball command and his consistency with a slider and changeup to profile as a starter.
