This mock draft pick feels like a Cam Smith do-over for Cubs

The Kyle Tucker trade seems to be working out for both the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. Tucker has proved to be the impact bat the Cubs' lineup has been missing over recent seasons, and Cam Smith seems to have turned the corner from his initial struggles at the Major League level earlier this season. Still, there remains some surprise over how willing the Cubs were to include Smith in the deal for Tucker, especially since they were given no assurances of a contract extension.

The fear, for critics of the Tucker trade, is that the outfielder will walk in free agency this winter, and if the Cubs don't win the World Series, the trade won't age well. Fortunately for the Cubs, after a lull in their drafting during the immediate years after their World Series title in 2016, the team's scouting department has thrived in recent drafts. Smith's rapid ascension was their biggest success story; however, Matt Shaw's resurgence is right up there.

With that in mind, it feels like Keith Law is giving the Cubs a do-over for trading Smith. In his latest mock draft, Law has the Cubs drafting Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen. In talking about Kilen, Law couldn't help but mention Shaw and Smith.

"The Cubs like college hitters who hit the ball hard and control the zone — well, most teams like those things, to be fair, but their last two first-round picks were exemplars of the type in Matt Shaw and the since-traded Cam Smith. Kilen is very much that flavor of hitter, and in the scenario I’ve laid out here, he’s the last of the top tier of those guys," Law writes.

Cubs go back to the Matt Shaw, Cam Smith well of drafting

Kilen's 2025 season has certainly been the best year of his collegiate career. In 245 plate appearances this season, Kilen has a slash line of .357/.441/.671 with 15 home runs and a 1.112 OPS.

At the very least, Kilen's arrival in the Cubs' farm system could be viewed as a replacement for losing Smith during the offseason. A worthwhile selection for the Cubs as the top of their farm system begins to graduate to the Major League level.