Day 1 of the 2026 Draft included the Cubs' picks from Rounds 1-4, including Cade Townsend at No. 23 overall. Day 2 begins Sunday at 10:30 a.m. CT through the conclusion of the Draft, spanning Rounds 5-20. Stream it live on MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+ and the MLB App.
CHICAGO -- Given that the Draft can take unexpected turns, the Cubs needed to see how things played out while keeping a clear goal in mind. The ballclub wanted to inject more top pitching talent into its farm system, but did not want to do that at the expense of missing out on highly touted position players still on the board.
“We didn’t want to force it,” Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said. “We felt like it might happen, just given the way the pitching crop kind of lined up with a lot of the bats going a little bit earlier. But until you get in it, you never know.”
2026 MLB DRAFT PRESENTED BY NIPPON EXPRESS
Day 2: LIVE (Rounds 5-20)
• Round-by-round analysis
Coverage
The Cubs liked how things played out at the top of the Draft this year.
Ole Miss righty Cade Townsend -- a pitcher who connected well with the Cubs’ pitching group both at the Draft combine and in other meetings -- was available with the 23rd overall pick in the first round. Chicago took him with that selection, and then grabbed two more pitchers they were targeting, Nebraska righty Carson Jasa (third round) and Northwestern State righty Dylan Marionneaux (fourth).
This marked the first time the Cubs used their first-round pick on a pitcher since 2022, when they selected Cade Horton seventh overall. The Cubs also took three pitchers within their first five picks after selecting only four arms total within the 15 picks in the previous three years’ first five selections combined.
Even with that influx of pitching talent at the top, the Cubs also snagged two power-hitting prospects in the second round (Texas A&M outfielder Caden Sorrell) and compensation round (Florida State first baseman Myles Bailey). With some true raw power available in those spots, Chicago pounced, and then returned to the pitching-focused approach.
“We’re really pleased with the outcome,” Kantrovitz said. “I think going in, we felt it was going to be slightly skewed towards more pitchers than hitters. I wasn’t sure if that was going to be one hitter or two hitters, but at the end of the day, when a guy like Caden Sorrell falls to us, we weren’t going to miss the opportunity to grab him.
“With getting Cade up top, I think that really solidified our Draft strategy, and then allowed us to be a little bit flexible with two impact bats right after that.”
Here are the Cubs’ picks following Townsend:
Caden Sorrell, OF
- Round 2, Pick 62
- Bats/throws: L/L
- School: Texas A&M
- Calling Card: Sorrell (No. 33 on the Top 250) has Major League bloodlines (both his grandfathers, Billy Sorrell and Tom Griffin, played in the big leagues), so he has a chance to add to that family history. The 21-year-old outfielder has plus bat speed and power, belting 35 homers with a .757 slugging percentage over the last two college seasons (82 games) combined.
- Quote: “We felt it was going to be slightly skewed towards more pitchers than hitters and I wasn’t sure if that was going to be one hitter or two hitters. But at the end of the day, when a guy like Caden Sorrell falls to us, we weren’t going to miss the opportunity to grab him.” -- Kantrovitz
Myles Bailey, 1B
- Compensation round, Pick 75
- Bats/throws: L/R
- School: Florida State
- Calling Card: Bailey has been a highly touted power prospect since his prep days and brings some of the best raw power to this year’s class. He had a .913 slugging percentage with 13 homers in 26 games this year before an ankle injury cut his season short. Bailey (No. 83 on the Top 250) posted a .734 slugging percentage and 1.222 OPS in two years at FSU.
- Quote: “It’s hard to find someone with top-of-the-scale power. Truly, it’s some elite raw power that Myles possesses.” -- Kantrovitz
Carson Jasa, RHP
- Round 3, Pick 98
- Bats/throws: R/R
- School: Nebraska
- Calling Card: After an extremely wild freshman season with the Cornhuskers (19 walks, seven hit batsmen and four wild pitches in 18 2/3 innings), the 6-foot-7 Jasa saw drastic improvements in ’26. Ranked No. 173 on the Top 250, the righty had a 3.59 ERA with 117 strikeouts and 47 walks in 87 2/3 innings. He has an elite curveball, which held batters to a .054 average (6-for-111) with 81 strikeouts this year.
- Quote: “The first thing that stands out is he’s just got this projectable frame, and he’s throwing upper-90s, can spin the ball. I think you give him a year or two and let him put on some more weight, then that just increases the power across the board.” -- Kantrovitz
Dylan Marionneaux, RHP
- Round 4, Pick 126
- Bats/throws: R/R
- School: Northwestern State (La.)
- Calling Card: The Cubs were able to have Marionneaux throw a bullpen during a workout and loved his ability to spin the baseball. The righty showed off a cutter that intrigued Chicago’s pitching group. This past season, Marionneaux had a 3.51 ERA with 81 strikeouts and 18 walks in 84 2/3 innings. The walk rate (1.9 per nine innings) was a noticeable drop from both ’25 (4.5) and ’24 (5.1).
- Quote: “We were able to see up close what we were seeing in the data, which is a really nice cutter, the ability to spin the ball, and just have a couple different shapes. Not to mention, he had a really good season this year.” -- Kantrovitz
More on the Cubs' 2026 Draft: