It’s no secret that the Cubs need all the pitching help they can get this season. But while the lack of pitching is in focus as an issue this year, it also needs to be addressed for future Cubs teams, so the Cubs are less likely to keep finding themselves in this spot.
Which is where the draft comes into play.
In recent years, the Cubs haven’t exactly been known for their pitching development. They are great at signing reclamation projects and reviving careers, but not many successful homegrown arms have come out of the farm system. Hoping to fix their pitching development woes, the Cubs decided to go pitching-heavy in this year’s draft, which is something that VP of Scouting Dan Kantrovitz alluded to last week.
“This year, the reality is we’re probably going to be a little less dogmatic about sticking to that, and realize that practically, to get more good pitching, we just might have to take more pitching … Tyler Zombro and the pitching department will have their fingerprints all over this, which has been a huge help to me … We’ve tried to revisit everything across the board, but honestly, it mostly comes down to investing more of our draft capital in pitching,” Kantrovitz said.
Kantrovitz kept his word, using 16 of the team’s 21 draft picks on pitchers. That feels like an extreme amount, though the Cubs selected 16 pitchers just four years ago in the 2022 draft, which featured notable names such as Cade Horton (1st round), Jackson Ferris (2nd), and Mason McGwire (8th). With how volatile player development and pitching in general are, having even a few arms of note is impressive.
So far, Horton is the only player out of the group to have reached the majors. Ferris was dealt to the Dodgers in 2024 for Michael Busch, now listed as the 10th-best prospect in Los Angeles’ farm system. McGwire was selected to the NL Futures Game roster this year, a fun token of recognition for what’s been a breakout season for the son of former slugger Mark McGwire. It’s fair to say that the 2022 draft has just one success, that being Horton, who technically has only thrown 125.1 innings in the major leagues, but there were at least a few promising selections.
With the Cubs in need of more pitching, it made total sense to draft a lot of pitchers. Although it isn’t an immediate fix to the problem, it’s definitely a start. Using over 75% of their picks on arms increases the odds of multiple success stories, which will boost the quality of the farm system as a whole.
The Cubs clearly prioritized spin and stuff with this year’s draft class, a trend that makes sense when you factor in Tyler Zombro’s role as the VP of Pitching. They also focused mainly on college pitchers, with Dylan Blomker the only prep arm selected by Chicago.
Velocity isn’t something we typically see the Cubs prioritize, but that changed on Saturday with both their first-rounder Cade Townsend and third-rounder Carson Jasa. Both pitchers have fastballs that reach 98 mph, although there’s potential for even more velocity to be found, specifically for Jasa. This is yet another variation from the norm that is not only exciting but also shows that the organization is trying new things to increase its hit rate on draft picks.
My 2026 MLB Draft hot take is I’d take Ole Miss RHP Cade Townsend over Jackson Flora. I get faint Walker Buehler vibes. Probably 7 pitch mix in here. 6% BB and 67% strike rate. Fastball w/ ride at 94-96 t98. Great cutter. Feel for spin. 83-85 mph 12-6 hammer. Splitter developing. pic.twitter.com/vZeGjIhDLk
— Danny (@dannybarrand_) May 14, 2026Carson Jasa @HuskerBaseball off to a strong start at Illinois with a pair of strikeouts in the 1st.Hit some spots with a FB up to 98 and putaway with two plus breakers in a 82 84 SL and 86 87 CTR.Likely 4th to 5th round talent for 2026 #MLBDraft @d1baseball @PB_DraftHQ pic.twitter.com/0ozrFf4apO
— David Seifert (@DSeifertD1PB) April 25, 2026A unique but annoying aspect of the MLB Draft is that, unlike other sports, it will likely be years before any of these arms reach the big leagues. Therefore, we may not know until at least 2028 if this new strategy of drafting more stuff-heavy pitchers and more pitchers in general was the right move. We’re still a year away, and this is totally getting ahead of things, but I’ll be interested to see if Kantrovitz and Zombro keep the same trends going next draft, or if events in between now and next July steer them off course.
There were so many other intriguing pitchers taken by the Cubs this year, all of whom Brett listed in his draft recap on Monday. Check that out for more information on what should be a super fun class to follow over the coming years.
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