2024 MLB Draft: 2 realistic and 2 not-so realistic options for the Chicago Cubs at 14

We’re still months away from the 2024 MLB Draft, but there’s never a bad time to look at ways the Cubs could improve their farm system.

About a month ago we wrote something with answers to all of your questions on the when and where for the MLB Draft, and in that piece, we also threw out a couple of options you could see the Cubs look at when they draft at pick number 14 based on picks they’ve made in the past.

The quick recap on previous first-round picks is that the Cubs have done a great job of listening to the data and drafting college players rather than prep players. Beyond that, the numbers show, as we look at potential options for the Cubs, that we need to focus even more on college hitters specifically. 

It may be a few years before we can take a shot at drafting the Japanese Prince Fielder, who just signed a scholarship offer to attend Stanford, but these guys wouldn’t be too bad to add, either. 

Mock Drafted Option: Brody Brecht RHP Iowa

Brecht is the exact kind of player that I’d advise against drafting in the first round. He’s a pitcher (problem number one) coming from a program not known for baseball (problem number two) in a conference not known for baseball (problem number three). 

That being said, he is electric. He’s a former Iowa Hawkeyes Wide Receiver but that didn’t lead him to getting hit very often as they couldn’t throw the ball out of their shadow. He’s a 6’4 225-pound righty that’s carrying a 1.76 ERA at this point in the season with 33 strikeouts over 15.1 innings. 

The Cubs have a history with former football players with Cade Horton having signed to play football and baseball at Oklahoma and Jeff Samardzija leaving behind a potential first-round future as a receiver at Notre Dame. Drafting a pitcher in the first round is a high-risk play but if this pick came to fruition more than six months after it was mocked, I wouldn’t be too mad.