KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals selected two players on the first day of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.
With the 6th overall pick in the 1st round, the Royals selected two-way player Jac Caglianone out of the University of Florida. With the 41st pick in the 2nd round, Kansas City selected left-handed pitcher David Shields from Mt. Lebanon High School (Pa.).
Caglianone, 21, set the school’s single-season home run record (35) this season as a junior, and the school’s career home run record (75). In 66 games this year, he slashed .419/.544/.875 with 72 RBI and walked (58) more than he struck out (26), even if you remove intentional walks (27).
Caglianone homered in 9 consecutive games from April 6-19, matching the NCAA Division I record done previously by Nevada’s Tyler Bosetti in 2021. The 7th home run of Caglianone’s streak measured approximately 516 ft.
In 16 starts on the mound, the left hander went 5-2 with 83 strikeouts in 73.2 innings (10.1 K/9) while touching triple digits with his fastball. That made him the runaway winner of the 2024 John Olerud Award for college baseball’s best two-way player.
Shields, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound 17-year-old pitcher was crowned the Gatorade Pennsylvania Baseball Player of the Year in June after leading the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils to a 28-2 record. He went 5-0 with a 0.25 ERA, 52 strikeouts and just 3 walks on the mound. At the plate, he batted .418 with 7 doubles and 28 RBI, compiling a 1.244 OPS. He is committed to play baseball at the University of Miami (Fla.).
Shields has volunteered locally at the Miracle League baseball facility operated by Major League veteran, Sean Casey. He’s also donated his time to multiple youth events such as clinics, evaluations and games in association with the Mt. Lebanon Baseball Association.
Video of Caglianone’s Zoom call from earlier this evening, as well as all press releases and calls from the 2024 Draft, can be found here.
The Draft will resume tomorrow beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT with rounds 3-10, exclusively on MLB.com.
