Chicago Cubs News: Why the Cubs drafted SS Matt Shaw over a pitcher in the 1st round

The Chicago Cubs minor league system is loaded with pitching

If you’re looking at the Cubs prospect rankings on MLB Pipeline you’ll see that four of the top ten players in the system and eight of the top twenty are pitchers. That doesn’t even include players like Michael Arias who is making hitters look silly in Low-A Myrtle Beach or Nazier Mule or Drew Gray, over-slot prep pitchers from the 2021 and 2022 drafts respectively.

While most outlets have Pete Crow-Armstrong listed as the top player in the system (and with good reason) there is absolutely an argument to be made for any of Ben Brown (acquired in last year’s David Robertson deal with the Phillies), Cade Horton (last season’s first-round pick out of Oklahoma) or Jackson Ferris (last year’s second-round selection) to be the top prospect in a very solid system.

You never draft a player based on current or perceived future positional need, but in a world where “you can never have enough pitching,” the Cubs aren’t in a position where they have to draft that position. If the best player available had been a pitcher, I wouldn’t have loved it, but I could’ve gotten on board.