July 11, 2023 By: Mark Knudson

If there’s ever another Shohei Ohtani, he won’t come from within MLB

A visitor approached Air Force Academy Head Baseball Coach Mike Kazlausky near the batting cage, about two hours before first pitch. His Falcons were hosting San Diego State in the spring of 2021, and Coach Kaz had an intriguing freshman on his roster that the visitor was ready to invite to play for his summer collegiate team in Boulder, about two hours away.

Keep in mind that Air Force cadets only get about three weeks off during the summer, so playing summer ball at all is a tight squeeze. Nonetheless, the visitor thought it was worth a shot.

This freshman, listed at 6’ 7” and weighing in around 230 pounds, could do it all. He played first base, outfield and he was even a part time catcher.

And…he pitched too.

Perfect guy for anyone’s competitive summer club.

“You’re not getting him,” Kaz smiled, even before the visitor had finished his sales pitch. “He’s going to the Cape.”

Indeed, after finishing a spectacular freshman season, where he was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year after hitting .410 with 11 homers, 43 RBI and posting an OPS of 1.183, Paul Skenes did head to the Cape Cod summer collegiate league to play for the Wareham Gateman.

Boulder’s loss.

Skenes would play the following season in AFA blue and silver, winning the John Olerud Award as the nation’s best two-way player. As a Sophomore, he hit .314 with 13 more homers and an OPS still over 1.000. And he did a little more pitching, too, Going 10-3 with a sensational 2.79 ERA (Air Force plays on a campus field that is well over a mile high in elevation) with 96 strikeouts in just 85.2 innings.

He was doing Shohei Ohtani things.

Faced with a career decision – stay at Air Force and be committed to military service well beyond graduation, or hit the Transfer Portal and pursue the dream of playing in the Major Leagues – Skenes opted for baseball, and transferred to LSU. All he did during his junior year was go 12-3 on the mound, punch out 209 guys in just 122 innings, win SEC Pitcher of the Year honors, the Dick Howser Player of the Year award, College World Series MOP and earn a National Championship ring.

And he was 0-for-0 at the plate.

The Pittsburgh Pirates made Skenes the first pick in the MLB Draft, and it’s crystal clear that this talented hitter will never take another in-game at-bat.

MLB doesn’t do Shohei Ohtani things.

Ohtani – who entered the big leagues having already proven himself as a two-way professional player in Japan – is more than a once in a generation kind of player. He’s a one time only player…unless they have another one of him developing overseas somewhere.

Major League Baseball will not go there with young prospects. From their perspective, there’s too much risk, too much to lose. When they invest big money – and Skenes is going to get about $10 mil to sign – they’re going to nurture, protect and even coddle prospects like Skenes. Playing a position while in between starts? Perish the thought. Take BP? Too easy to pull a muscle. Can’t risk it. Nope.

So Paul Skenes is now a PO – Pitcher Only.

A similar fate awaits University of Florida sensation Jac Caglianone. Recruited as a pitcher, he missed his freshman year on the mound after having Tommy John surgery. However, he was able to establish himself as the Gators first baseman that season, and this year hit 31 home runs while getting back on the hill and posting an impressive 3.78 ERA in 16 starts. And like Skenes, he hits 99 on the radar gun. He can do both.

Caglianone is also a big man, standing 6’5” and pushing 235 on the scales. The strength training staff in Gainesville has gone above and beyond to keep him in the position to physically handle playing both ways. He undergoes numerous pre-game procedures including massages, etc to be ready for the grind.

At Florida, it’s certainly paying off.

Next year at this time, he’ll be a top draft pick too. And by then, even though Caglianone badly wants to be the next Shohei, MLB will force him to choose. Or they might choose for him. With a TJ surgery in his past, they’ll likely want the lefty slugger to concentrate on hitting.

The same goes for all the other two-way sensations playing high school and college baseball right now.

You’re not going to be allowed to do both.

The next Shohei Ohtani to arrive in the big leagues – if there ever is another – won’t come from any MLB controlled farm system.

MLB doesn’t do Ohtani things.