Cubs: Here is how the experts graded the 2020 draft

Most Chicago Cubs fans were pretty happy with the Cubs draft haul last week. But what did the experts think of it?

Still no Chicago Cubs baseball, but we at least got a little bit of a baseball fix with the draft going down earlier this week.

From drafting a hometown kid who used to play on the legendary Jackie Robinson West Little League team that electrified the city during a summer where the MLB teams in the city were god awful, to the fire-throwing relievers headlined by a guy clocked at 105 miles per hour on his fastball, there was plenty to talk about in regards to the Cubs 2020 draft haul.

Cubs fans were excited, but was the excitement typical fan homerism, or did the team legitimately have a great draft? Let’s consult the unbiased experts.

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Let’s start with Bleacher Report writer Joe Tansey, who gave the squad a B+, although he didn’t elaborate on what went into that ranking. He gave eight teams an A- or higher grade, meaning the Cubs were top third in the league for their draft grades.

Another Bleacher Report writer Paul Kasabian also took a stab at draft grades. He gave the Cubs an ‘A’ for their efforts. He didn’t grade the team draft haul collectively as a unit but did give his thoughts on Cubs first-round draft pick Ed Howard.

Perhaps it’s a hot take given his mid-first-round selection below other stars, but the guess here is that Ed Howard becomes the most decorated member of the 2020 draft class.Perfect Game wrote that “the sky is the limit” for the Chicago native, who also played for the 2014 Jackie Robinson West Little League team that went to the Little League World Series finals. The middle infielder could find himself holding down the middle infield with Javier Baez before too long.

The glowing reviews of Howard were the story of the week. MLB insider Jeff Passan said on ESPN that he received a text from a scout saying that Howard was the best pick in the draft up to that point. ESPN, on its draft tracker, also acknowledged that although he’s raw and has a lot of development ahead of him, Howard could pan out to be one of the very best players in this draft.

CBS Sports still thought the team had a good draft but weren’t quite as overwhelmingly positive as the guys from Bleacher Report. CBS Sports gave the Cubs a straight ‘B.’ For what it’s worth, most of these draft rankings are giving the Cubs crosstown rival White Sox’ A’ grades as the Southside guys added considerably to their treasure trove of young talent last week.

At The Athletic, MLB Insider Keith Law gave a very fair assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each prospect. It was especially critical of recent Cubs draftee Luke Little who he thinks is getting too much hype because of the viral video of him throwing 105 miles per hour in an indoor workout. He also noted that Howard is raw, reliever Burl Carraway has the potential to join an MLB bullpen very soon and says outfielder Jordan Nwogu is a bit of a sleeper pick that could pan out well for the Cubs.

Of course, evaluating prospects days after they get drafted is all purely speculative. It all depends on how everybody pans out, and years will go by until a proper determination can be made on that.

For now, though, it looks like the squad made a strong case that they bolstered a farm system MLB.com ranked as 23rd best in baseball before the season began.

That seems like something worthy of getting excited about.