Chicago Cubs Promote This Year's First Round Draft Pick Again

The fast ascension of this year's Chicago Cubs first round draft pick continues as they have promoted him once again.

Florida State first baseman Daniel Cantu (32), right, is patted on the back by infielder Cam Smith (24) during the fourth inning of an NCAA baseball matchup at 121 Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. Florida State defeated Florida 14-3. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Chicago Cubs have been able to build one of the top farm systems in all of baseball by waiving the white flag on their seasons the past few years when they traded away their established players to get prospects back in return.

Hopefully the fruits of that labor will be realized soon with many of those youngsters getting closer and closer to reaching the Majors.

One player who has immediately turned heads since entering the organization is this year's first round pick Cam Smith.

Selected No. 14 overall out of Florida State, he has catapulted through the Cubs' farm system, moving up from Single-A to High Single-A after 15 games when he set a franchise record for consecutive home runs with six.

Now, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline, Chicago has decided to promote him to Double-A to end his season.

#Cubs first-rounder Cam Smith keeps climbing the ladder. I've learned the 3B is on his way to Double-A Tennessee. 1.048 OPS in A and A+ over 27 games.

— Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayo) September 9, 2024

This is an incredible rise by the 21-year-old.

Coming into the draft, there were some evaluators who didn't think he would be able to hit with power in professional baseball because of his ground ball rate, projecting him to be capped out around 20 home runs per season.

So far, that's been anything but the case.

After dominating in Single-A, the third baseman was able to do the same thing after his first promotion, slashing .333/.421/.500 with a homer, five extra-base hits, and nine RBI across his 48 at-bats and 12 games with their High Single-A affiliate.

Smith currently ranks the Cubs' No. 8 overall prospect, something that could quickly change heading into next year if he's able to finish out the season strong in Double-A.