Sometimes MLB teams draft to a certain profile. Sometimes they find comfort in selecting players that compare to what they know.
Sometimes, they just luck into it. The Chicago Cubs made end up with a little of both in July’s MLB Draft.
The Cubs have the No. 17 pick overall. The way they’re playing they’ll be picking with playoff teams next year. So, there’s a need to make this pick count.
There’s a saying — one can never have enough pitching. Perhaps it’s all the better if that pitching is familiar to the team selecting him.
Gage Wood Compares to These Two Cubs
Per ESPN’s mock draft, released by Kiley McDaniel earlier this week, the Cubs take Arkansas right-hander Gage Wood. Scouts love what McDaniel calls Wood’s “huge stuff,” but the fact that he’s only made 10 college starts is a bit concerning. He is 2-1 with a 5.59 ERA in seven starts this year. He has 37 strikeouts and five walks in 19.1 innings.
There’s a huge gap in his season, as he didn’t pitch from Feb. 23 to April 18 due to injury. But he’s back to help the Razorbacks in their NCAA Tournament run. That could line him up favorably to a current Cubs Major League rookie.
“Some scouts think that if he can make a number of starts for Arkansas this postseason, he could have a rise like Cade Horton, who went No. 7 in 2022 out of Oklahoma and is now in the big leagues for the Cubs,” McDaniel said.
He also drew comparisons to a former Arkansas pitcher who ended up in the Cubs’ organization — Jaxon Wiggins, who was taken in the second round in the 2023 MLB draft. Wiggins is at Double-A Tennessee and accelerating in his development. He is 2-2 with a 2.06 ERA in nine games (eight starts) with 49 strikeouts and 19 walks in 39.1 innings.
The Cubs would take that kind of progress from Wood, who clearly still needs some development. But his make-up is too much to ignore, per McDaniel.
The Cubs selected Florida State third baseman Cam Smith in the first round of last year’s draft. He had an incredible short season in the Cubs’ system and was then traded to the Houston Astros as part of the dela to bring slugger Kyle Tucker to the north side.
Chicago’s 2023 first-round pick was Maryland shortstop Matt Shaw, who has been converted to a third baseman and was on the Cubs’ opening-day roster. He just returned from a short stay at Triple-A Iowa and got his bat turned around.
The Cubs’ 2022 first-round pick was Horton, who made his MLB debut a couple of weeks ago and won his first game. He had an exceptional start to this season at Iowa.
Chicago’s first-round pick in 2021 was Kansas State pitcher Jordan Wicks, who made his MLB debut in 2023 and has served as a spot starter and long reliver at the MLB level.
In 2020 the Cubs selected shortstop Ed Howard out of Mount Carmel High School in Chicago. He is still in the Cubs’ system at Double-A Tennessee.
The 2025 MLB draft will be held Sunday and Monday, July 13-14, during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.
