4 Cubs first-round draft picks you might have forgotten about

First-round draft picks are never guaranteed to be great in any sport, so there are always going to be hits and misses. The Chicago Cubs have had a long history of first-rounders, for various reasons, who haven’t worked out so well. Some of those players are still topics of conversation today, while others have faded into obscurity. Looking at the first-round draft history of the Cubs going back to the 1960s reveals a lot of names that have seemingly not been talked about much, or not talked about in a long time.

Here are some of those names that might have been forgotten about over the years.

Forgotten Cubs first-rounders: Terry Hughes – 2nd overall pick in 1967

Terry Hughes was a third baseman taken by the Cubs second overall in 1967 out of Paul M. Dorman HS in South Carolina. He was a notable athlete as a teen, being sought after by both baseball and basketball scouts. Hughes was taken over future Hall of Famer Ted Simmons (10th) and notable future All-Stars Jon Matlack and John Mayberry.

After getting drafted, Hughes put up some very solid numbers in the minors. From 1967-1970 he hit .272 with 21 home runs in 333 games before getting the call to the Cubs. He made his debut at the age of 21 on September 2, 1970 in a 17-2 win against the Phillies. He went 0-for-2. It was not until September 17 that he got another at-bat. He recorded his first MLB hit and his only one with the Cubs that day.

Hughes played only in the minors in 1971 and 1972 until he was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973 He appeared in 11 MLB games with the Cardinals that year, and then in 41 games with the Red Sox in 1974. In total, he recorded 18 hits with one home run and a .209/.281/.279 career slash in 54 MLB games between the Cubs, Cardinals and Red Sox.

After two more years in the minors with the Red Sox and once again Cardinals organization, he was done with professional baseball at the age of 27. Only four players have been taken by the Cubs as high or higher (first overall) than Hughes since.

Forgotten Cubs first-rounders: Earl Cunningham – 8th overall pick in 1989

Just after the White Sox picked Frank Thomas seventh overall in 1989, Jim Frey and the Cubs took outfielder Earl Cunningham out of Lancaster HS, South Carolina. Cunningham was listed at 6-2, 250lb and was initially ranked as the #44 prospect by Baseball America going into 1990.

The kid had power, and he displayed that right away in the minors. From 1989-1991 between Rookie Ball and low-A, Cunningham hit 31 home runs in 228 games. In 1991 alone with the Peoria Chiefs, he hit 19 home runs and 17 doubles in 101 games. Seems promising right? Well, the problem was he struggled to hit consistently and struck out a lot. Over those first three years, he struck out 293 times and hit .236. He also only walked 35 times over that span.

In 1992 he made it to High-A ball, but hit just .108/.174/.217 in 25 games. In 1993 he went back to Low-A and hit .194/.268/.360 in 43 games. He left the Cubs organization to play with the Angels and Rockies organizations from 1994-1996, never playing above High-A ball. In 1998 he played some independent ball in the Northeast League, but that was the last of his recorded professional career.

Forgotten Cubs first-rounders: Luis Montanez – third overall in 2000

Outfielder Luis Montañez was taken out of Coral Park HS in Miami, Florida third overall in the 2000 draft. This was the same draft the Marlins took Adrian Gonzalez first overall, and also saw notable players like Adam Wainwright, Chase Utley and Rocco Baldelli go after Montañez.

His story with the Cubs is interesting because he did play at the MLB level with them but not until 2011. Montañez played in the Cubs farm from 2000-2006, not getting to Triple-A until 06′. He had some pretty solid seasons in the minors but just never made it up the totem pole. It was in 2007 when he signed a deal with the Baltimore Orioles organization where he would finally break through the following year.

From 2008-2010 he hit .223/.257/.323 with four home runs and a .579 OPS in 93 games. It was 2011 at the age of 29 when he re-signed with the team that drafted him. He appeared in 36 games with the Cubs that season and hit .222/.263/.352 with one home run. It was weird for Cubs fans to realize that they were finally watching the player their team took third overall a decade later.

Montañez left via free agency and spent the next several years in the Cardinals, Phillies and Angels organizations but never made it back to The Show. He played professional ball through 2015.