The Cubs found an extra bite at the top of the 2026 MLB Draft, and it came straight out of Kyle Tucker’s exit.
Chicago landed the 75th overall pick after Tucker turned down a qualifying offer and then signed a four-year, $240 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs used that selection on Florida State first baseman Myles Bailey, a power bat who was ranked No. 83 on MLB Pipeline’s 2026 draft board.
Bailey brings loud tools. The left-handed slugger is listed at 6-foot-4 and 257 pounds, and his calling card is obvious: 65-grade power.
He flashed it in a short college season, playing only 26 games for Florida State in 2026 but still launching 13 home runs and posting a .913 slugging percentage. He does strike out plenty, which comes with the territory for a bat like this, but the power is real enough to give him a path forward even if the swing-and-miss remains part of the package.
Florida State certainly got a taste of what Bailey can do.
My goodness, the power!! 😲
4⃣6⃣8⃣ feet, 1⃣1⃣8⃣ mph off the bat!! pic.twitter.com/gzJuTWp4Pj
- FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) May 23, 2025
For the Cubs, the pick is a reminder that draft compensation can still matter in a big way. Teams that extend qualifying offers and lose the player anyway are rewarded with draft help, and Chicago benefited because it was neither a revenue-sharing recipient nor a Competitive Balance Tax payer in 2025. That put the Cubs in line for a pick after Competitive Balance Round B.
The Brewers, by contrast, went into the draft with less help than they expected. Milwaukee had traded away its only supplemental pick, a Comp Round B selection, to the Boston Red Sox in the Kyle Harrison-Caleb Durbin swap.
Then the club tried to create another opening by extending a qualifying offer to Brandon Woodruff, assuming he would decline and sign elsewhere. Instead, Woodruff accepted, and the Brewers got no extra draft capital.
That left Milwaukee with less Day 1 draft capital than usual and more pressure to be clever with early-round picks, especially with less bonus pool money available for the 2026 class. Even so, the Brewers have already started the draft strongly, with four solid selections so far.
In Other News...
Brewers May Have Just Pulled Off Their Biggest Draft Steal Yet
The Brewers used their first two picks in the 2026 MLB Draft to add Trey Ebel at No. 25 and Sawyer Strosnider at No. 66, a pairing that fits the way Milwaukee tends to attack draft night. Strosnider, a left-handed hitting outfielder from TCU, came into the draft with plenty of attention thanks to his power-speed blend and his place near the top of several prospect lists, including a No. 13 ranking from Baseball America and No. 22 from MLB Pipeline.
His slide into the second round is the kind of thing that often happens when clubs are juggling bonus-pool money, and it gave the Brewers a chance to land a player many evaluators expected to hear much earlier. For a team that values finding upside without losing flexibility, Strosnider looks like the sort of pick that can change the conversation about a draft class quickly, even if the full payoff will take time to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Add Another Athletic Outfielder Early And Fans Will Have Takes
The Brewers kept leaning into athleticism early in the 2026 MLB Draft, grabbing University of Florida outfielder Kyle Jones with the 102nd pick. A right-handed hitter with a productive season behind him, Jones brings a profile Milwaukee has long seemed to value: enough offense to matter, enough speed to change the game on the bases, and enough defensive ability to give him a real chance to stay in the middle of the field.
Jones college line, built around a .317 average, six homers, 46 RBIs and 17 stolen bases, fits the kind of all-around package that can make a pick like this look smart in a hurry. It also stands out for another reason around here, because Milwaukee has not taken a collegiate outfielder this high in the draft in a while, which is the sort of detail that tends to get fans talking about both the player and the direction of the draft room. [Read more 🡒]