Cubs finally appear determined to fix glaring farm system problem in 2026 MLB Draft

The 2026 season has proved just how thin the Chicago Cubs' pitching depth is across their entire organization. Injuries have certainly accentuated that fact, but the reality is that the Cubs also lack pitching prospects with a high ceiling.

Entering the season, Jaxon Wiggins was clearly that pitcher for the Cubs. While Wiggins has carried the reputation of potentially being the next ace of the Cubs rotation, he also comes with injury risk. He's just now pitching in affiliated games after being sidelined for three months.

After Wiggins, there's a handful of pitching prospects at the lower levels who could blossom into contributors. Though, not enough to for the Cubs to deter from the strategy they need to have for the 2026 MLB Draft.

Draft pitching. The Cubs haven't exactly prioritized drafting pitching after the fifth round in recent drafts, and certainly adds to the lack of depth they currently have. There's been a recent sense that instead of focusing on pitching, the Cubs could fall back on the strategy they know best.

It sure sounds like the Cubs are taking the obvious approach with the 2026 MLB Draft

Conceptually, it's hard to fault the logic in the idea that the Cubs could once again prioritize college bats in the draft. It's a strategy they have been good at. That being said, that's also part of the problem.

Pitching development has been a weakness for the Cubs, and it won't change until the front office is willing to step out of their comfort zone. Now might be that time. The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma recently spoke with Dan Kantrovitz, the Cubs' VP of Scouting, and it sure sounds like the Cubs know they have to focus on pitching during this year's draft.

“You can’t take good pitching if you don’t take pitching,” Kantrovitz said. “One of the things we’ve looked at in years past, the last few years in particular, how do we allocate more of our draft pool to pitching without leaking wins or overall draft value? Which has always been our North Star. We go into our draft being pretty agnostic of position player vs pitcher. We just want to take the best player available in the spirit of trying to get the most future wins.”

Again, the approach the Cubs have had in recent years hasn't been bad. 2023 first-round pick Matt Shaw has reached the majors, and 2024 first-round pick Cam Smith was a part of the Kyle Tucker trade.

But, in using that barometer, it would now seem that the Cubs are "leaking wins" because they don't have enough pitching. The solution to that problem is staring them directly in the face.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow