Florida’s all-time home run king will become the 86th Gator to appear in the MLB tonight in St. Louis, drawing the start at designated hitter and batting sixth in the Kansas City order.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators’ home run king has received the call to The Show.
Less than one year after being selected sixth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals have promoted first baseman Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/16365> to the Major Leagues following a 79-game cameo in the Minors. Although Kansas City had an off day on Monday, Caglianone will become the 86th Gator to debut in the MLB when the Royals visit the St. Louis Cardinals in Kansas City at 7:45 p.m ET on Tuesday night. He will bat sixth and start at designated hitter.
The 2024 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and No. 10 MLB prospect per MLB Pipeline, Caglianone represents the 34th player of the Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1999> era to reach The Show. The Tampa, Fla. native will be the first former UF player to make his MLB debut this season, with right-hander Hurston Waldrep the most-recent Gator to do so back on June 9, 2024.
In 50 Minor League games this season split across Double-A and Triple-A, Caglianone blasted 15 home runs (third in MiLB) on top of nine doubles while batting a robust .322/.389/.593. Owning a .982 OPS this year, Caglianone has logged innings at first base, left field and right field as the Royals look for a spot in the lineup for the 22-year old phenom.
From 2022-24, Caglianone slugged a program-record 75 home runs in just 165 career games and was a Unanimous First Team All-American in 2023 and 2024 while leading the Gators to back-to-back College World Series appearances. Highlighted by a 2023 SEC Championship, Caglianone finished his college career as a .355/.447/.760 hitter over 634 at bats, owning 225 hits, 189 RBI, 176 runs, eight stolen bases and the highest slugging percentage in team history. He made 34 starts on the bump from 2023-24, never missing his turn in the rotation and going 12-6 with a 4.55 ERA, .208 batting average against and 170 strikeouts in 148 1/3 frames.
Capping off one of the best collegiate baseball careers of all-time in 2024, Caglianone slashed .419/.544/.875 with a program-record 35 home runs while making a team-high 16 starts for a 5-2 record, 4.76 ERA, .225 BAA and 83 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings. By finishing with 104 hits, Caglianone tied the single-season program record. He also became the first SEC player ever to blast 30 home runs in multiple seasons while his 75 big flies rank third in SEC history. He owns each of the two-most-prolific home run seasons in Gators history with 33 and 35 in his final two campaigns, respectively.
Below is a complete list of Gators to debut in the MLB under O’Sullivan.
MLB Players Under O’Sullivan
Player Drafted (Round) MLB Debut Team
1 Nick Maronde 2011 (3rd) September 2, 2012 Los Angeles Angels
2 Paco Rodriguez 2012 (2nd) September 9, 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers
3 Mike Zunino 2012 (1st – 3rd overall) June 12, 2013 Seattle Mariners
4 Kevin Chapman 2010 (4th) August 9, 2013 Houston Astros
5 Matt den Dekker 2010 (5th) August 29, 2013 New York Mets
6 Anthony DeSclafani 2011 (6th) May 14, 2014 Miami Marlins
7 Cole Figueroa 2008 (6th) May 16, 2014 Tampa Bay Rays
8 Preston Tucker 2012 (7th) May 7, 2015 Houston Astros
9 Brian Johnson 2012 (1st – 31st overall) July 21, 2015 Boston Red Sox
10 Nolan Fontana 2012 (2nd) May 22, 2017 Los Angeles Angels
11 Austin Maddox 2012 (3rd) June 17, 2017 Boston Red Sox
12 Harrison Bader 2015 (3rd) July 25, 2017 St. Louis Cardinals
13 Bobby Poyner 2015 (14th) March 31, 2018 Boston Red Sox
14 Justin Shafer 2014 (8th) August 19, 2018 Toronto Blue Jays
15 Eric Hanhold 2015 (6th) September 4, 2018 New York Mets
16 Richie Martin 2015 (1st – 20th overall) March 28, 2019 Baltimore Orioles
17 Pete Alonso 2016 (2nd) March 28, 2019 New York Mets
18 Shaun Anderson 2016 (3rd) May 15, 2019 San Francisco Giants
19 A.J. Puk 2016 (1st – 6th overall) August 21, 2019 Oakland Athletics
20 Brady Singer 2018 (1st – 18th overall) July 25, 2020 Kansas City Royals
21 Dane Dunning 2016 (1st – 29th overall) August 19, 2020 Chicago White Sox
22 Jonathan India 2018 (1st – 5th overall) Thursday, April 1, 2021 Cincinnati Reds
23 Jackson Kowar 2018 (1st – 33rd overall) Monday, June 7, 2021 Kansas City Royals
24 Taylor Gushue 2014 (4th) Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Chicago Cubs
25 Kirby Snead 2016 (10th) Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Toronto Blue Jays
26 Mark Kolozsvary 2017 (7th) Wednesday, April 20, 2022 Cincinnati Reds
27 Alex Faedo 2017 (1st – 18th overall) Wednesday, May 4, 2022 Detroit Tigers
28 Danny Young 2015 (8th) Monday, May 9, 2022 Seattle Mariners
29 Dalton Guthrie 2017 (6th) Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 Philadelphia Phillies
30 Jacob Young 2021 (7th) Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 Washington Nationals
31 Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> 2023 (1st – 4th overall) Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024 Texas Rangers
32 Christian Scott 2021 (5th) Saturday, May. 4, 2024 New York Mets
33 Hurston Waldrep 2023 (1st – 24th overall) Sunday, June 9, 2024 Atlanta Braves
34 Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/16365> 2024 (1st – 6th overall) Tuesday, June 3, 2025 Kansas City Royals
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