Chicago Cubs: 3 mistakes that led to 2021 dismantle of roster

3. Multiple draft mistakes

The Chicago Cubs weren’t very good at drafting during their run of dominance.

The Chicago Cubs have made a lot of bad mistakes. The previously mentioned trade and singing are a big part of things but there is one big issue that has forced the Cubs to fall off a cliff much quicker than anyone would have predicted when they won the World Series in 2016. That issue has been their drafting. Many mistakes have been made in this area and now they are paying for it.

If they were better drafters, they would have certainly been a much better team for much longer. In 2014, they took Kyle Schwarber who albeit was a good player for them, would not go 4th overall again. They left studs like Aaron Nola, Michael Kopech, Trea Turner, and Matt Chapman on the board to make that pick. That is just one example of bad drafting. Taking Albert Almora Jr. 6th overall and Ian Happ 9th overall are other big ones.

They hit with a guy like Kris Bryant at second overall but it has been pretty bad outside of that. We are hopeful that guys like Nico Hoerner and Ed Howard start to change that perception but this has been not good for the Cubs. If they want to turn things around again, better drafting would be a great start.

Nobody is perfect in baseball. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have done some great things but the mistakes outweighed the triumphs in the end. They have their 2016 World Series and nobody can take that away but there are certainly some mistakes to learn from.