4 Takeaways From the Chicago Cubs’ 2024 MLB Draft, Including the Arrival of One of the Best Defensive Catchers

Vice President of Scouting Dan Kantrovitz and the Chicago Cubs had a clear plan heading into the 2024 MLB Draft.

They expected hitters to be heavy on Days 1 and 2 for Rounds 1-10, then focus on pitchers on Day 3 for Rounds 11-20.

“I think we found the right balance based on our assessment of the talent, the draft pool, as well as addressing any needs that we might have in the system,” Kantrovitz said Tuesday at the conclusion of the three-day draft.

Kantrovitz doesn’t expect any surprises, predicting that all 20 players selected by the Cubs will be signed. They selected nine pitchers (six right-handers and three left-handers), seven infielders, two outfielders and two catchers.

Here are four takeaways from the Cubs’ 2024 draft.

1. They focused on university in their choices.

Only three of the Cubs’ 20 picks were high school players: shortstops Ronny Cruz (Miami Christian School in Florida) and Ty Southisene (Basic HS in Nevada) in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, and outfielder Eli Lovich (Blue Valley West HS in Kansas) in the 11th.

It was the second straight year the Cubs’ draft was biased toward college players, something Kantrovitz described not as the organization’s philosophy but as a challenge that comes with taking prep players because of their high cost to sign.

“In some rounds, your options are limited,” he said. “You’re trying to be in a position to draft and sign as many high school players as possible. At some point, you don’t have any more room to maneuver with the salary cap.”

Even with just three prep players, Kantrovitz expects the Cubs’ bonus pool to be as tilted toward those players as it is toward any other team. Lovich will need a “pretty substantial investment” to buy out his commitment to Arkansas. Kantrovitz praised area scout Ty Nichols for “raising the flag early” on Lovich, identifying him as one of the best hitters he’s seen all spring, not just in high school.

Lovich, a 6-foot-4 left-handed hitter who Perfect Game ranked as the No. 1 outfielder and No. 3 overall recruit in Kansas, posted a .402 average, .482 on-base percentage and 1.245 OPS with eight doubles, six triples, five home runs and 15 stolen bases in his senior year.

Kantrovitz said Lovich put on a show in batting practice during a pre-draft workout at the Cubs complex in Mesa, Ariz., hitting fly balls and participating in high-performance tests.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing his body transform over the next couple of years and hopefully that’ll translate into his power and his performance,” he said. “But he’s a pretty exciting player.”

2. They valued performance against the best competition.

A common theme among many of the Cubs’ selections is their participation and success in the Cape Cod League.

That’s a group that includes Florida State third baseman Cam Smith (first round), College of Charleston third baseman Cole Mathis (second), UC San Diego third baseman Matt Halbach (10th), Grand Canyon right-hander Daniel Avitia (12th), Lipscomb left-hander Hayden Frank (15th), Georgia Southern right-hander Ben Johnson (17th) and Indiana right-hander Brayden Risedorph (20th).

“The trick is trying to get as much volume as possible from a performance standpoint, from a statistical standpoint, and then being able to have context with that volume,” Kantrovitz said. “The most effective way to do that is to do it against the best competition, and that tends to happen in the Cape League and also in the SEC and some of the other major conferences. When we can have players who have volume in both, it gives us a lot more confidence that those numbers are going to translate, and then our matchups end up translating into what we can expect from them.”

“When they get to Low A and High A, a lot of the players they’re competing against are the players they were competing against in the Cape League or the SEC, so you get a better idea of ​​what level they’re at.”

3. They signed one of the best defensive receivers in the country.

Major-caliber receivers can be hard to come by in the draft. When teams identify some within the draft class, it can be difficult to predict when they might come off the board, Kantrovitz said.

“And if you’re a team that’s taking them, that means you’re probably drafting them a little earlier than teams would expect,” he added.

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The selection of San Diego catcher Ariel Armas is therefore notable, especially given his defensive pedigree. Between Armas’ defensive stats and his accolades, his work behind the plate has been considered some of the best in the country.

Armas won the Division I Gold Glove for catchers last month after being named the West Coast Conference defensive player of the year, and he was one of 16 semifinalists for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award.

Armas, 21, had a .998 fielding percentage, caught 15 stolen base attempts and led the nation with 18.69 defensive runs saved — 3.58 more than the next closest player.

“He’s got a cannon arm and looks very natural on the back end, and he’s got some pretty exceptional framing skills,” Kantrovitz said. “And because of that, when he puts his framing, his interceptions, his blocking, his receptions, when you compare all of that to other receivers, both from an analytics standpoint and from a scouting standpoint, he stacks up pretty well.”

4. There is a lot of power among college bats.

The Cubs are injecting more power into their system. Of the nine college players they drafted, two are not lacking in dynamism.

Smith and Mathis, their top two picks, present the type of power and downside potential ideal for the first two rounds. Smith, 21, had a .654 slugging percentage and 39 extra-base hits as a draft-eligible sophomore at Florida State, while Mathis, who turns 21 on July 25, had a .650 slugging percentage and 33 extra-base hits during his junior season at Charleston.