KANSAS CITY -- Jac Caglianone was already wearing a Royals hat when he hopped on a Zoom call with Kansas City media from his parents¡¯ house in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday night.

There was little doubt that he¡¯s ready to start his professional career.

¡°Oh, 100%,¡± Caglianone said with a big smile. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I¡¯m more excited about now, flying out to Kansas City and getting that done and getting started.¡±

And there was nothing the Royals were more excited about than seeing Caglianone¡¯s name still on the board as they went on the clock Sunday night, selecting the Florida first baseman/left-handed pitcher with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The Royals used their second-round pick on Sunday to select left-handed pitcher David Shields at No. 41 overall out of Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) High School.

With the way this Draft unfolded, the Royals were unsure who was going to be taken ahead of them Sunday. When Caglianone was still there at No. 6, well ¡­

¡°The talent was too good to pass up,¡± scouting director Brian Bridges said.

¡°The fact that he just about hit the ball out of any ballpark in the country, he¡¯s shown that,¡± Bridges continued. ¡°I love the way he plays the game. ¡­ Plays hard, loves his teammates, has a desire to win and kind of put his team on his back this year and showed some growth and maturity.¡±

The Royals drafted Caglianone as a two-way player, so it remains to be seen whether he continues both hitting and pitching on his way to the Majors, ¨¤ la Shohei Ohtani, whom Caglianone says has had a big impact on him. The 21-year-old wants to pursue both hitting and pitching, and the Royals haven¡¯t shut that down yet.

¡°The plan is to build off of what I did in the past couple of years in college,¡± Caglianone said. ¡°Really just developing on the pitching side of things as well as the offensive side of things.

¡°I¡¯m very thankful they¡¯re giving me the opportunity to do both. I won¡¯t let them down.¡±

Any discussion about MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 3 Draft prospect has to begin at the plate, where the imposing 6-foot-5, 250-pound Caglianone has showcased prodigious 70-grade power. The lefty slugger bashed 68 home runs over his final two seasons with the Gators. His 35 dingers as a junior this season trailed only the 37 from fellow top Draft prospect Charlie Condon, who was drafted No. 3 overall by the Rockies on Sunday.

¡°It¡¯s unique to have somebody that can do both and has done it at a really high level in the SEC,¡± general manager J.J. Picollo said. ¡°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. But 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. But we are well aware of what he can do on the mound as well.¡±

Caglianone¡¯s 2024 campaign included some homer history as he went deep in nine consecutive games from April 6-19, tying the NCAA record and surpassing the Major League record of eight. His .419 average was the third best in Division I this season, and his .544 on-base percentage was driven by a walk total (58) that was more than double his strikeout total (26).

Although Caglianone drastically cut his K rate this year, he does have swing and miss in his game. His chase rates in 2023 and ¡®24 were 44% and 39%, respectively. By comparison, the league-average chase rate in the Majors this year is about 28%.

With some more swing-decision adjustments, Caglianone¡¯s offensive upside could lead to a long career spent primarily at first base, where he is solid defensively.

Caglianone was one of the top college pitchers in this year¡¯s Draft, too. Originally recruited to Florida as a pitcher, Caglianone only began truly hitting when he underwent Tommy John surgery before his freshman year.

His powerful left arm unleashes a mid-90s fastball that climbs to 99 mph, and his repertoire includes a cutter, slider and changeup. He struck out 170 batters through 34 starts (148 1/3 innings) across his three seasons at Florida, although he had trouble with control, walking 50 batters in 73 2/3 innings in ¡®24.

That two-way status can¡¯t be ruled out yet, although it seems Caglianone¡¯s powerful bat is his ticket to the Major Leagues. It¡¯s not hard to imagine what he and Bobby Witt Jr. could look like in the Kansas City lineup in a few years.

Caglianone has already started dreaming about it.

¡°It¡¯s an unbelievable feeling,¡± Caglianone said. ¡°I¡¯m just really excited to get to work with all these high-end talent guys and just develop more. And become the next guy in the lineup behind Bobby, hopefully.¡±