Projected top pick in 2024 MLB Draft drawing Shohei Ohtani comparisons

Jac Caglianone is set to make his College World Series debut for the Florida Gators on Friday night as he continues his dominant sophomore season. 

Caglianone is one of the most intriguing players in all of college baseball due to his two-way dominance as a pitcher and left-handed power hitter. That two-way ability has made him an early front-runner for the top pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and also drawn comparisons to the best two-way player baseball has ever seen: Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani. 

It even earned him the nickname "Jactani."

Caglianone did not pitch as a freshman while recovering from Tommy John surgery but made his return to the mound this season and regularly threw 99 mph with a 3.78 ERA for the Gators. That's an impressive performance all on its own, but he managed to combine it with an NCAA-leading 31 home runs from the left side of the plate. 

He is setting his sights on continuing that two-way ability all the way through the majors — as long as a team will allow him to do that.

From ESPN's Jeff Passan:

"I don't really see me really stopping unless a team flat-out tells me down the road that I've got to pick one or makes the decision for me," Caglianone said. "I have no interest in stopping whatsoever."

College baseball has been full of players who excelled as both hitters and pitchers before eventually choosing a single path to focus on.

LSU pitcher — and one of the top 2023 draft prospects — Paul Skenes, for example, was the top two-way player in the country a year ago but gave up on the hitting aspect this season so he could focus on pitching. It has resulted in him dominating hitters and putting him in a position to be one of the top-five picks in this year's draft.

It is exciting to at least hear that Caglianone wants to attempt to pursue being a two-way player. Whether he succeeds or not is another story. Ohtani's brilliance and dominance are no doubt going to inspire other players trying to pull it off because of how valuable it can be for a team. You are essentially getting two top-tier players in one. That is a huge advantage in constructing a roster, but there is a reason he is the first person in the history of the game to excel at both for this long. It is really difficult to master one at the major league level. It is nearly impossible to master both.