Cubs select Kyle Schwarber with 4th overall pick in MLB Draft

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The Chicago Cubs selected catcher Kyle Schwarber, an Indiana University product, with the fourth overall pick of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft on Thursday.

Scouts maintain that Schwarber, at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, boasts the most raw power of any player in the draft. Lauded as the country's best amateur catcher by Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the late-blooming junior possesses elite power behind the plate, but concerns over his defensive abilities could force a move to the outfield.

The left-handed hitting catcher led the Big Ten with a 18 home runs in his sophomore year, a school record, while slugging .647 with an on-base percentage of .456 this season.

[Courtesy: Big Ten Network]

As a sophomore, Schwarber led Indiana to its first College World Series appearance and its first Big Ten Conference regular season title in 81 years.

On MLB Network Radio, he mentioned he wanted to remain as a catcher.

Schwarber is poised to join an impressive cadre of young talent in the Cubs organization, a contingent that includes Javier Baez, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, and Kris Bryant, the second overall pick in last year's draft.