Report: Cubs draft MLB top rated key man

BALTIMORE — Last summer, the Cubs selected Matt Shaw, a polished infielder from the University of Maryland, in the middle of the first round of the MLB Draft.

Shaw was invited to big league Spring Training this year and has already advanced to Double-A Tennessee. Ranked as the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect by Pipeline and No. 29 on the Top 100 list, Shaw is also set to play in the All-Star Futures Game.

“The type of kid he is,” said Dan Kantrovitz, the Cubs’ vice president of scouting, “the drive and perseverance and the intangibles that he brings to the table give us confidence that he’s going to continue to put in the work to reach the expectations that he has for himself and that we have for him.”

This year, the Cubs hold the 14th selection in the Draft, one spot lower than Shaw’s selection last year. While the spotlight often shines brightest on the top picks, Chicago is optimistic about finding another impact player when their turn comes.

“Obviously it’s different than picking in the Top 10 or Top 5,” Kantrovitz said. “But I still think, given what I know of the player pool, we should be in a position to hopefully get somebody exciting and potentially an impact player.”

Here’s an overview of the Cubs’ situation for Day 1 of the Draft, which will be broadcast at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday on MLB Network and MLB.com.

**Cubs’ Draft Breakdown:**

– **First pick and bonus slot:** The Cubs’ first pick at No. 14 has a bonus slot value of $5,070,700 this year.
– **Additional first-day picks:** Their next pick is No. 54 (bonus slot value of $1,641,800) in the second round.
– **Total bonus pool:** The Cubs have $9,802,300 available to sign their picks within the first 10 rounds, ranking 19th among this year’s Draft bonus pools.

In a recent mock draft, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo predicted the Cubs would select East Carolina right-hander Trey Yesavage with the 14th pick, mentioning Chicago’s tendency to lean towards college players. Other prospects mentioned include 3B Cam Smith (Florida State), OF Vance Honeycutt (North Carolina), and 3B/OF Seaver King (Wake Forest).

This aligns with the Cubs’ recent draft strategies. Last summer, they picked 17 college players out of 20 selections, with three being prep stars. Over the past 10 Drafts, the Cubs have chosen a collegiate player in 10 of their 11 first-round picks, opting for high school players in later rounds.

“You just don’t know who the group of players that are going to be available when you pick,” Kantrovitz said. “But I do think there’s some reasonable depth in this year’s talent pool beyond the first round.”

Kantrovitz aimed to see the top 200 prospects on the Cubs’ board in person and increased pre-Draft workouts to gather comprehensive data.

“Every year, we want to improve upon the previous process,” Kantrovitz said. “We want to have a data-driven, evidence-backed approach. And we realize that there’s also new information and new data coming at us each year that we want to try to incorporate.”