The first question, albeit a joking one, during Cubs VP of scouting Dan Kantrovitz’s pre-draft media session?
“Do you draft someone to trade for [Shohei] Ohtani now?”
The most recent first-round pick Kantrovitz’s scouting department made is now hitting in the middle of the Astros’ lineup. Jed Hoyer used Cam Smith, selected at No. 14 in last summer’s draft, to pry outfielder Kyle Tucker away in a blockbuster offseason trade, one that’s helped put the Cubs where they are today, atop the NL Central with status as true World Series contenders.
The Cubs certainly aren’t asking for trade backs, not even with Smith — slashing .286/.351/.435 and under club control through 2030 — doing great things in Houston. Tucker’s been that good, boasting a .902 OPS that ranks in the top 10 in the sport. He’s been the superstar the Cubs needed, and he’ll be in the National League’s starting outfield in the All-Star Game. The trade stands as a smashing success for Hoyer’s front office, even with the potential that Tucker, a free agent at season’s end, will be a Cub for only one championship chase.
That trade isn’t possible without Kantrovitz & Co. identifying Smith as someone they believed would be a future star on the North Side.
“Our goal is to draft good players,” Kantrovitz said Sunday. “Ideally, we’d love to see them out here [playing for the Cubs], from an emotional standpoint, but the reality is we know not all of them are going to be out here, some are going to be playing for other teams.
“To the extent that we can help Jed and [GM Carter Hawkins] with their construction of a championship-caliber club, we’re all in.”
While dealing Smith for Tucker has perhaps been the largest impact a Cubs-drafted first-round pick has made this season, it’s far from the only impact.
The Cubs’ two first-round picks prior to Smith — third baseman Matt Shaw (2023) and righty pitcher Cade Horton (2022) — are playing big roles for the big-league team. Lefty pitcher Jordan Wicks, a first-round choice in 2021, is currently part of the major league bullpen.
Kantrovitz has only been leading Cubs drafts since 2020, which means first-rounders like left fielder Ian Happ (2015) and Nico Hoerner (2018), who are obviously critical cogs for these contending Cubs, predate his time with the organization.
But for three of his guys in a row to already be making a regular difference at the big-league level is no small feat.
That trio was part of the same game recently when the Cubs visited the Astros, with Horton the starting pitcher, Shaw at third base and Smith in the opposing lineup.
“There were a lot of texts going back and forth between our scouting department during that game,” Kantrovitz said. “It was like a postseason game for our scouts.”
So circling back to that joke of an opening question, what’s next?
Given the Cubs’ status as contenders, it wouldn’t be a shock to see them continue to use minor league assets to bring in top-level talent. And they’ve got a lot to work with, with four minor leaguers ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball.
Of course, building a sustainable contender means constantly restocking the cupboard, be it to develop the next wave of big leaguers or make the next blockbuster trade. That’s where the draft comes in.
Kantrovitz & Co. will go to work Sunday, when this year’s draft begins. They’ll be making another first-round choice, at Pick No. 17, to bring in a player hoped to be a franchise cornerstone — or to be used to land another difference-maker like Tucker.
“It’s a pretty interesting sweet spot in the draft where you can have access to some of the better talent. Maybe not the top three guys, but you can’t really rule out the majority of the draft pool. So from that standpoint, it’s exciting,” Kantrovitz said. “It’s going to be a long night waiting for 16 players to go off the board in front of us.”
