Gators Duo Competing in Arizona Fall League

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two former Florida Gators baseball greats are set to be reunited from opposing dugouts while playing in the 2024 Arizona Fall League: first baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone and southpaw Philip Abner. The duo arrived in Gainesville as freshmen in 2022 and made their mark on the program as standout contributors before embarking on their respective MLB careers.

In the 2023 MLB Draft, Abner was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the 175th overall pick in the sixth round. This past summer, Caglianone was drafted to the Kansas City Royals as the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Caglianone is currently ranked No. 17 in MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospect rankings and is the highest-ranked prospect in the Arizona Fall League this year.

Abner is coming off of a season that started with almost two months on injury reserve, but after being activated by Single-A Visalia he finished strongly. The Charlotte, N.C. native struck out 25 batters while allowing just three walks and six hits across 17 innings. Prior to being drafted, Abner had a stellar 2023 season with the Gators, totaling 31 1/3 innings and striking out 51 batters against 19 strikeouts. He pitched to a 3-0 record, 3.16 ERA, and .220 batting average against across 25 relief appearances. Abner is playing with the Salt River Rafters, part of the East Division of the AFL. 

Caglianone signed with the Royals this past July and was assigned to High-A Quad Cities in August, skipping Single-A. Caglianone hit .241/.302/.388 in 29 games with the Bandits. The Tampa, Fla. native is fresh off a record-breaking season at Florida, slashing .419/.544/.875, bashing 35 home runs and producing the second-highest batting average in program history. Caglianone is competing with the Surprise Saguaros, part of the West Division of the AFL. 

To watch the Arizona Fall League games, fans can find live streams for each of the 81 regular-season games on MLB.com, free of charge (linked here). The AFL Home Run Derby, Fall Stars Game, Play-In Semifinal and Championship Game will also…