Jac Caglianone leads crop of intriguing two-way players in 2024 draft

A look at some of the notable two-way players in the 2024 draft.

With what Shohei Ohtani has done at the major league level, it’s easy to forget how hard it is to succeed as a two-way player, even in the minor leagues.

While it’s not uncommon to have players in college, even more so in high school, pitch and hit competitively, that rarely carries over to the professional level.

Bubba Chandler was drafted as a two-way player out of high school, and he hit and pitched his first pro season before focusing on pitching in 2023. Going into the 2024 season, he’s a Top 100 prospect on multiple prospect sites, mainly due to his focus on just pitching.

A few names of note in the 2024 draft class have generated interest as both a hitter and pitcher, and while they may not continue that, a team could secure signing him should they be open to giving them a shot to do so.

Jac Caglianone

He may be the most notable name in the 2024 draft, primarily due to his ability to hit and pitch.

Caglianone has serious upside both as a hitter and pitcher, but also comes with some major red flags.

As a hitter, Caglianone batted .323/.389/.738 with 33 home runs and 90 RBI as a sophomore with Florida last year. He has a strikeout rate of under 20% but chased out of the zone over 40% of the time and posted just a 5.3% walk rate.

Due to his pitching, he’s been limited to the team’s DH but could make the move to first in pro ball should he focus on hitting.

On the mound, Caglianone has an electric fastball that he can get up to the upper 90s, which allows him to strike out 87 batters in 74.2 innings pitched (25.4%), but he suffered with his control, walking 16% of the batters he faced.

Both red flags could be solved by focusing on hitting or pitching, with his raw plus-plus power possibly giving the edge upside-wise to the former.

Noah Franco

Several prep players reclassified going into the year, moving up their eligibility from 2025 to this upcoming draft, with Franco being one of them.

A left-handed pitcher who can already work up to the mid-90s with a projectable frame usually garners a lot of interest, but some scouts believe he has more upside as a hitter.

He’s shown a solid hitting ability, and thanks to that same frame, some believe he can grow into some more power. With a plus arm, Franco would make a good fit in right field.

Franco will be one of the more intriguing prep players to watch this season, as left-handed prep pitchers already hitting 90 generally gain a lot of attention, and if he takes strides on the mound, teams could jump at the chance to sign him and get him to focus on that side of things.

Bryce Rainer

Committed to playing college ball in Texas, Rainer has a great left-handed swing and a great frame to grow into some power. Rainer is one of the taller shortstop prospects in the draft class, but he also made great strides in showing he can stick there at the next level.

Thanks to an arm that can reach 94 mph on the mound, the arm will never be in question about his shortstop play, it’s more how much he fills out that 6’3” frame.

He’s still raw on the pitching side of things but has flashed two secondary pitches to go along with that fastball that is already in the 90s.

Rainer has gotten more attention as a hitter, but there is some serious upside as a pitcher, depending on how the season goes.

(Side note: I watched a few videos on Youtube of him pitching, and the more I saw, the more I really liked).

Carson Benge

While he’s probably a hitter at the next level, due to his hit tool and some upside when it comes to power, Benge will be interesting to watch as a two-way player this year after being a semifinalist for the John Olerud Award.

Pipeline gives him a ‘plus’ hit tool, and mentions he’s showing signs of lifting the ball more which will help him do more damage with the strong exit velocity numbers he put up last year.

After undergoing Tommy John his freshman year, he was worked back slowly as a pitcher last season. If they use him more on the mound, he does offer an above-average fastball/slider combination that has been clocked in the mid-90s.

Braden Montgomery

Perhaps one of the strongest arms in the draft from the outfield, Montgomery can get into the upper-90s with his fastball. Baseball America mentions he may have a borderline ‘80’ grade arm.

He transferred to Texas A&M in the offseason, so it will be interesting how he handles SEC pitching on a weekly basis.

Montgomery has top 10 upside as a hitter, especially if the strikeouts continue to drop his junior year. He’s a switch hitter that is better from the left side, and could be used out of the bullpen this year, although he’s allowed 31 earned runs in 32.2 innings pitched with Stanford.

Sources Used

Baseball America Draft Rankings

MLB Pipeline Draft Rankings