Cubs grab two college bats on first night of 2024 MLB Draft

The Cubs are injecting more talent into their infield prospect pool.

The team selected Florida State infielder Cam Smith with the 14th pick in Sunday’s MLB draft. In the second round, the Cubs selected College of Charleston infielder Cole Mathis with the 54th overall pick.

“I think there were a bunch of college hitters that we thought were going to get on the field quickly and they did, and we weren’t sure how many of the guys at the top of our list would,” Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said. “And as it turned out, there were a few. So I think we probably ended up having more options than we anticipated, which is always a good thing. And Cam was somebody that we prioritized early on.”

This is the second straight year the team has selected a college hitter in the first round, having taken Maryland infielder Matt Shaw in 2023. Smith, 21, hit . 387 as a sophomore at Florida State with 16 homers, 57 RBIs and a 1.142 OPS. His . 387 average was the highest in Florida State history since Tyler Holt hit . 401 in 2009 and his 104 hits were the most by a Seminole since Buster Posey hit 119 in 2008.

“I had a lot of support,” Smith said after being selected. “So when I heard my name, I burst into tears immediately.”

Smith, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 225 pounds, was a top prospect coming out of high school but held firm on his commitment to the Seminoles and went undrafted. He had a solid freshman campaign, hitting 12 home runs, an .843 OPS and making the ACC All-Freshman Team.

But it was after that first year that he really broke through.

Last summer, Smith played in the prestigious Cape Cod League and hit .347 with 6 home runs and a .981 OPS and was named the Top Prospect. That led to a breakout campaign in 2024 with the Seminoles.

“Cam is actually someone that, since high school, coming out of South Florida, we were very interested in,” Kantrovitz said. “His combination of performance and tools, along with some upside that we identified, I think makes him a pretty interesting combination of traits. He’s someone that I think has checked a lot of different boxes for us.”

“Someone we think can play third base, stay there and potentially be really good at it. He hits with power and hits with average. So we didn’t really see any holes in his game.”

A new mental approach helped set the tone for this escape.

“I prided myself on meditating, and it got to the point where it became a hobby,” Smith said. “I did it before games, after games, during games, even when I was on third base or in the dugout circle.

“Meditation is something that slowed my heart rate down and that’s something huge that takes you a long way in this game.”

Part of the improvement this season has been his batting approach.

As a freshman, Smith walked 21 and struck out 66 times in 230 plate appearances. Last season, Smith walked 44 and struck out 48 times in 322 plate appearances, posting an impressive .488 on-base percentage. He had a 56-game on-base streak over his final two seasons at Florida State.

Perfect Game and Baseball America both voted him a second-team All-American.

“I definitely developed an approach that I stuck to throughout the season and I was stubborn with it because I knew what worked for me and I knew that was what I was best at,” Smith said. “So, I stuck to that approach and just hit low shots and right-center space. That’s really what changed my game and allowed me to see the ball deeper.”

The Cubs are hoping Smith can follow the path of their last three first-round picks — left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks (2021), right-handed pitcher Cade Horton (2022) and Shaw all rose quickly through the minor league ranks. Shaw reached Double-A last season just months after being drafted. Wicks made his major league debut last year and was part of the Opening Day rotation. Horton is the Cubs’ top prospect and out of Triple-A Iowa.

“I think we’re trying to start with a clean slate,” Kantrovitz said earlier in the week. “And I think if something didn’t work out with one of those picks, we wouldn’t want it to impact our strategy in a negative way. And so I think the fact that we’ve had some positive feedback so far from some of the recent picks, we don’t want it to impact our strategy too much either.”

Mathis, 20, hit .335 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs for the Cougars. In three seasons at the College of Charleston, Mathis hit .324 with 24 homers and a 1.014 OPS. He’s a two-way player through 2023 — he had a 3.45 ERA in 60 innings on the mound last season.

“He has a natural swing plane that allows him to hit the ball in the air consistently,” Kantrovitz said. “And then with his size and strength, he ends up putting a pretty good load on it.

“So I would say a combination of contact, power and execution in the air with a fairly symmetrical spray distribution as well.”