The Home Run Derby has come and gone, and Gator fans learned two things on Monday night:
- Netflix needs to never, ever get the rights to broadcast a Florida game because their production continues to be amateur-hour stuff.
- Jac Caglianone is still capable of smashing a baseball a very long way.
Caglianone didn’t win the home run derby, but he fit in just fine and had some of the highlight moments of the entire competition.
Former Gator Jac Caglianone competes in the Home Run Derby
Caglianone was eliminated in the first round of the competition. The updated format gave players 20 total swings in the first round to hit as many home runs as they could. Caglianone hit eight home runs in those 20 swings, but the cut line wound up being 10.
He started slowly, which ultimately dashed his chances of moving on, but once he got going, he put on a show that almost no one else could match. Caglianone’s average home run distance was 448 feet, the second most of anyone in the first round. His hardest hit home run was 116 MPH off the bat, which was the hardest hit ball of anyone from the first round.
His highlight home run was a towering 463-foot shot that cleared the batter’s eye in center field at Citizens Bank Park. It reminded Gator fans of Caglianone’s famous 516-foot home run he hit as a Gator that cleared the scoreboard in Gainesville.
Jac Caglianone CRUSHES four home runs in a row 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GTEAKpRVOG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 14, 2026
JAC BASHES ONE OVER THE SCOREBOARD!
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 16, 2024
That one comes in at a projected 516 feet 🤯#GoGators // 📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/BLKMfy6uqN
What caught the eye of people on social media was the fact that Caglianone’s dad, Jeff, was the one pitching to him, and he wasn’t exactly giving Jac grooved pitches to hit. There were some throws that looked borderline, like Jeff was trying to strike out his son.
It’s all in good fun as Caglianone has hit his stride this year after a bit of a bumpy debut last year. He did a speed run through the minor leagues, but struggled to make consistent contact once with Kansas City.
After starting out in right field, where he was more than respectable and had a cannon of an arm, he has also spent time back at his native first base. On the season, Caglianone is hitting .260 with an OPS of .782. He has 15 HRs, 15 doubles, and 35 RBIs on the season.
The actual All Star Game in tonight at 8 PM in Philadelphia.
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