Royals add star two-way player from Florida, high school pitcher in MLB Draft’s first 2 rounds

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Royals are building for the future while thriving in the present.

They added two promising players to their farm system Sunday via the Major League Baseball amateur 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 is the headliner, as a top-10 pick should be. The 21-year-old set Florida’s single-season home run record this season with 35, as well as the school’s career home run record with 75. In 66 games this year, he batted .419 with 72 RBI. Caglianone homered in nine consecutive games from April 6-19, tying the NCAA Division I record. Worth noting, the seventh home run during that streak measured approximately 516 feet.

Caglianone becomes the new home run king in program history(WCJB)

But Caglianone is more than just a slugger. He’s a left-handed pitcher who touches 100mph with his fastball. In 16 starts on the mound this past season, Caglianone went 5-2 with 83 strikeouts in 73.2 innings en route to winning the John Olerud Award as college baseball’s best two-way player. The Royals intend to develop him as both a pitcher and a first baseman, which remains rare in today’s game - though not as unique as it once was thanks to the phenomenon that is Shohei Ohtani.

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“We love his bat. We’ll say that. We love his bat, love his power, love his athleticism. And that is first and foremost where we are,” said Royals general manager J.J. Picollo. “Doing it in the Major Leagues is another thing. And that’s something we’re going to continue to talk about and figure out how this can work.”

Shields is a 17-year-old pitcher and reigning Gatorade Pennsylvania Baseball Player of the Year. He went 5-0 with a 0.25 ERA as a senior, leading the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils to a 28-2 record. Shields recorded 52 strikeouts and just 3 walks.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” Royals scouting director Brian Bridges said. “We offer him a lot in player development that he’s never been exposed to, and him being young, he has time on his hands.”

He is committed to playing baseball at the University of Miami (Fla.), but Bridges said Shields will forego that commitment and begin his professional career.

The draft continues Monday with rounds 3-10.