How Cubs will approach Draft’s No. 13 pick

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- The Cubs were able to narrow their focus in the first round of the MLB Draft last summer. With the seventh overall selection, Chicago had its short list of favorites and landed a top target in Cade Horton, whose stock soared with his College World Series heroics.

The situation is slightly different this year. While the legwork done behind the scenes in the weeks and months leading up the Draft is similar, the Cubs must cast a wider net with their first selection coming in at No. 13 in the first round.

“Going into the Draft, everybody has sort of their favorites, you know?” said Dan Kantrovitz, the Cubs vice president of scouting. “Whether it’s in the back of my mind, whether it’s in the back of our scouts’ mind, people in the office. Sometimes you just have to wait to see sort of what the rest of the league is going to do.

“So, I think from that standpoint, it gets to kind of the reactionary component.”

Here is a look at the Cubs’ situation for Day 1 of the Draft, which will be aired at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday on MLB Network and MLB.com.

Cubs’ Draft breakdown

First pick and bonus slot: The Cubs' first overall pick is at No. 13, which has a bonus slot value of $4,848,500.

Additional first-day picks: The team's next pick checks in at No. 68 (bonus slot value of $1,101,000) in a free-agent compensation round prior to the third round.

Total bonus pool: The total available for the Cubs is $8,962,000, which is ranks 19th among the Draft bonus pools this year.

Starting with Horton, the Cubs used 16 of their 20 selections in the 2023 Draft on pitchers. Chicago has picked a collegiate arm (Horton last year and lefty Jordan Wicks in ’22) with their top pick in the last two Drafts. The Cubs have not picked a prep arm with their top selection since 2005.

In a recent mock draft, Pipeline expert Jim Callis noted that the Cubs “are sorting through several bats, with the high school group maybe ahead of the college crop.” He names prep shortstop Arjun Nimmala as a possible target, along with high school prospects Colin Houck, Aiden Miller, Colt Emerson and Bryce Eldridge.

The Cubs picked a local prep star, Mount Carmel’s Ed Howard, with their first-round selection in 2020. Prior to that, the last two position players taken with the top pick by the Cubs were college bats: infielder Nico Hoerner (2018) and outfielder Ian Happ (2015).

Kantrovitz did not get into specifics when asked what type of player the Cubs might be targeting at the top of their Draft list this year.

“We want to try to find a player that has the highest projection on our board,” Kantrovitz said, “combined with somebody that has some value associated with the pick as well.”

Last year, Horton’s in-season development of an elite cutter, combined with a strong finish, pushed him to the top of the Cubs’ board. In his first pro campaign, Pipeline’s No. 2-ranked Cubs prospect has turned in a 2.59 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 15 walks in 48 2/3 innings through 12 starts between Single-A Myrtle Beach and High-A South Bend.

“It’s definitely exciting to watch,” Kantrovitz said. “Every time he goes out, it’s a source of pride for all of our scouts. We believed in him from Day 1.”