The Cubs have made a habit of selecting hitters from four-year colleges during the Theo Epstein era. The front office was extremely successful in taking Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ, and Nico Hoerner with their first pick in each player’s respective drafts.

While the strength of this draft outside the top few picks doesn’t lie in the college bats, there is still a grouping of guys that might be good options for the Cubs to go with in the first round. In addition, there are plenty of names I really like that should be good options to pull the trigger on in the later rounds of the draft.

I previewed the high school bats to look out for on draft day and the high school arms that pique my interest. Today I will give you the rundown of players I think the Cubs have to select if he somehow falls down to #16, players that have been mocked at or around the first round pick for the Northsiders, and guys that I really like in rounds two through five.

It is extremely common for teams to go back to the well for a player that they have already scouted, or a school they drafted from in a recent year. Because of that, I will also go into a couple guys that come from familiar universities.

Let’s get it.

Take If He Falls

There is one guy in this category and he is arguably my favorite player in this draft. Heston Kjerstad can flat out rake. He puts up stupid numbers at Arkansas, records even more impressive numbers in his batted ball metrics, and probably has zero shot of making it down to 16. He gets some comps to Kyle Schwarber because of his plus power and below average defense, but it is because of that bat that I’m going to hope and pray he falls down about 10 slots.

Good Fits At 16

If I would have posted this about a week ago, Garrett Mitchell would have fit into the above category. He is inexplicably falling down mock drafts, and Jonathan Mayo recently described him as having “the best overall set of tools in this class.” His knock is that he has type 1 diabetes, but he has had it since he was a little kid. I don’t see it as something that should send him sliding outside of even the top 10 picks. I’m putting him in this category, but if he falls to 16, the Cubs have to take him.

I couldn’t be more against the idea of drafting based on need if I tried. Teams don’t do it. They definitely don’t do it in the first round. But there is a difference between drafting based on need at the Major League level and drafting based on system-wide gaps. Aaron Sabato fills the system-wide gap in the power department. On the Prospects Live YouTube live chat last week, Ralph Lifshitz described the first baseman from North Carolina as having more power than (assumed) first overall pick Spencer Torkelson. The hit tool isn’t nearly as advanced and Sabato is locked into first base, but having that type of power is no small feat. I would be all-in on the Cubs going for this fullback of a human being, even if it is a bit of a reach.

There is no player in this draft that shouts “Chicago Cubs draft pick” more than Nick Loftin. From MLB Pipeline:

He doesn’t have loud tools but he contributes in all phases of the game and has one of the higher floors in the 2020 college crop…

But wait, there’s more!

Loftin is more of a competent than flashy defender at shortstop, where his insticts help him play quicker than his full speed. He has solid arm strength and should be able to stay at short at the next level. He offers impressive versatility – he started games at five positions (short, second, and third base, left and right field) for the U.S. collegiate nation time last summer – and would fit in nicely as a utilityman if he doesn’t provide enough offensive impact to be a regular.

Incredible. You can stop reading the rest of these posts because you now know who the Cubs are selecting.

Other Guys I Like

There is a big crop of names I like for the Cubs to select in rounds two through five. You will find my college sections for this category bigger than my high school list due to my familiarity with the guys. I’ll be the first to admit that I have seen plenty more college baseball with these guys than I have of the high school group.

Gage Workman is an interesting case. He is a switch hitter. He has plus raw power. He has questionable approach at the plate. He is a plus defender at third base, but didn’t play his natural shorstop position at Arizona State because there was a guy by the name of Alika Williams already manning that position. Last but not least, he went to the same Basha High School in Arizona as the Cubs top prospect, Brennen Davis.

A group of ultra-athletic outfielders highlight this category for me. Zach DeLoach was not very good in his first two college seasons at Texas A&M. However, he broke out to lead the Cape Cod League in batting average (The Cubs love The Cape) and then was absolutely mashing to begin this year. He has really good bat to ball skills but seems caught between outfield positions defensively.

Jordan Nwogu helped lead Michigan to the College World Series last year and has all the talent in the world at the plate. He is built like a defensive end because he was recruited to come off the edge for Jim Harbaugh, and punished baseballs like they are quarterbacks. His plus power and impressive speed combination will get him drafted in the second or third round, but he has plenty of work to do defensively in left field.

How about impressive tools and unimpressive approach? Parker Chavers out of Coastal Carolina and Blake Dunn out of Western Michigan both have loud bats, with Chavers actually having some really impressive raw power, especially for a guy that could stick in centerfield. Both guys have big question marks because of their strikeout rates that can flare up at times. The tool to really keep an eye on is Dunn’s speed. It is arguably the best in the entire draft. If either of these guys can make good use of their incredible talents, they could be steals late in the draft.

The last two guys I like are both shortstops at big time programs, but that is just about all they have in common. Anthony Servideo and Jack Blomgren could not be more opposite from one another when you watch them on the field.

Servideo is flashy, has the best hair in NCAA baseball, performs tremendous celebrations at the most exciting ballpark in baseball at Ole Miss, is new to shortstop, has a powerful arm and impressive quickness, shows more pop than his small frame indicates, and draws plenty of walks.

Blomgren has started nearly every single game at shortstop for Michigan since his freshman year, he doesn’t hit for much power at all but makes a ton of contact, will never embarrass himself in the field or at the plate, and words to describe him are “plus makeup,” “reliable,” “good instincts,” and “consistent.”

Going Back To The Well

The Cubs took Jake Washer out of East Carolina University in the 26th round last year, and this year they could head back to Greenville to take big first baseman Alec Burleson. The lefty reminds me a lot of current prospect Jared Young in the fact that he hits for plenty of gap-to-gap power but will need to translate those doubles into homers to turn into a real big prospect. It is notable that Burleson was a two-way player both at ECU and for the US collegiate national team.

Levi Jordan and Josh Burgmann were drafted from the University of Washington in each of the last two years for the Cubs. Don’t be shocked to see Braiden Ward come out of the Pac-12 school this year, whether it is as a fifth round draft pick or as an undrafted free agent. Ward has the best combination of baserunning and speed in this draft and has led the conference in stolen bases all three of his college seasons. Much like current Cubs Connor Myers and DJ Wilson, his defense would immediately be one of the best in the minor leagues. His bat still needs to come around on all fronts, but speed does not go into a slump.

If you thought this one was fun, come back tomorrow to read about the strength of the draft: college arms.