Wiggins following Horton's lead with rise on Top 100 Prospects list

CHICAGO -- Roughly a three-hour drive separates the towns of Norman and Roland in Oklahoma. Cubs righty Cade Horton played high school and college baseball in the former, located south of Oklahoma City, while prospect Jaxon Wiggins was in the latter as a prep star, closer to the Arkansas border.

They could both be together in Chicago soon enough.

“I grew up playing against Jaxon,” Horton said at Cubs Convention earlier this month. “He’s an Oklahoma boy, so I know him well. Electric stuff. Really good heater. I’m really excited to see how he is this year.”

On Friday, MLB Pipeline unveiled its new Top 100 rankings for the 2026 season, and Wiggins slotted in at No. 58 (up from 67th at the end of last year). Only Moisés Ballesteros (No. 55) ranks higher as the other Top 100 prospect in Chicago’s system, but the catcher’s immediate opportunity within the Cubs’ lineup could result in an upcoming graduation from such lists.

Wiggins, then, is poised to keep climbing the ranks, and he is on a path to becoming the Cubs’ top prospect with a chance to reach the Majors as soon as ‘26. It is a similar position that Horton found himself in last spring, when he began the year at Triple-A Iowa before performance and circumstances led him to Chicago’s rotation by May.

While Wiggins, 24, has put himself on the Major League radar, development will continue to be the focus before any potential opportunity arises.

“It’d be very similar to a Cade Horton,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said at the Winter Meetings in December. “That’s obviously a high bar in terms of, if he could do half of what Cade Horton did, that’d be awesome. I think he showed that he can get upper-level hitters out. It’s just getting over the health and the command hurdle. If he does that, he’s got a chance to help us out.”

The 24-year-old Horton was a breakout performer for the Cubs last summer, joining the fold when injuries hit the big league staff and then going 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 23 appearances (22 starts). The right-hander finished as the runner-up in balloting for the National League Rookie of the Year and is now a part of a deeper Chicago staff.

Horton is back with a group that features Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon, plus the recent trade acquisition of Edward Cabrera. Veteran Justin Steele is working his way back from a left elbow injury and could be back in the first half. Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Colin Rea and Jordan Wicks are also in consideration.

Horton remembers how he was seemingly poised for the big leagues in ‘24 before injuries got in the way. Now in a great position to offer advice based on his own path to The Show, he plans on being a voice for Wiggins and wants the prospect to keep his focus on the tasks in front of him.

“He’s a great kid. He’s going to learn really fast,” Horton said. “It’s, ‘Don’t look too far ahead. Stay where your feet are and don’t get caught up in the moment. Just enjoy the moment, and when it happens, it’ll happen.’ I feel like that’s what was huge for me last year.”

The Cubs picked Horton in the first round of the 2022 Draft out of the University of Oklahoma while he was freshly back from Tommy John surgery rehab. Similarly, Chicago selected Wiggins with the 68th overall pick (compensation round) in ‘23 out of the University of Arkansas after he missed his final collegiate season due to the same procedure.

Chicago was careful with Wiggins’ innings in both ‘24 and ‘25, while still moving him steadily up the organizational ladder. Last season, the right-hander cruised through three levels, posting a 2.19 ERA with 97 strikeouts against 36 walks in 78 innings across High-A South Bend (six outings), Double-A Knoxville (10) and Triple-A Iowa (three).

The data that Statcast captured of Wiggins in the Minors showed an average fastball velocity of 97.7 mph (maxed out at 100.4 mph). The 6-foot-6 righty also throws a slider, while mixing in a changeup and curveball. Wiggins had a 31% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate overall in ‘25 (improvements on 28% and 14.2%, respectively, in ‘24).

“Power arm,” Hawkins said. “Just a lot of explosiveness there. Breaking ball that’s going to miss bats. Fastball that’s going to miss bats. He’s getting that up into the upper 90s and into the 100s. It’s really just about landing them and being consistent with command on that, but just one of those guys that kind of oozes potential. It’s just a matter of corralling all of it.”