MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs spent this offseason building up depth for their starting staff, creating a foundation that should allow pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins the ability to focus on development. The goal would be for Wiggins to force Chicago’s hand, rather than having the Cubs forced into a situation to promote the promising prospect.
An important step arrived on Monday, when the North Siders officially invited the 24-year-old Wiggins -- MLB Pipeline’s No. 2-ranked Cubs prospect and No. 58 on the overall Top 100 list -- to Major League camp for Spring Training. That will give Wiggins the opportunity to learn first-hand from veterans in the room and another recent prospect success story, Cade Horton.
“If he could do half of what Cade Horton did, that’d be awesome,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said of Wiggins during the Winter Meetings in December. “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 Cubs extended non-roster invitations to 18 players, including five beyond Wiggins from Pipeline’s most recent Top 30 list (which will be updated later this spring). Shortstop prospect Jefferson Rojas (No. 3), first baseman Jonathon Long (No. 6), righty Grant Kipp (No. 17), outfielder Brett Bateman (No. 19) and righty Connor Noland (No. 20) also got invites.
The rest of Chicago’s NRI group includes: right-handers Jeff Brigham, Corbin Martin, Connor Schultz, Collin Snider and Trent Thornton; infielders Scott Kingery and BJ Murray; outfielders Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick; and catchers Ariel Armas, Christian Bethancourt and Casey Opitz.
The Cubs selected Wiggins with the 68th overall pick (compensation round) in the 2023 Draft out of the University of Arkansas, as he was still in the process of making a comeback from Tommy John surgery on his right arm. Chicago carefully built up Wiggins’ innings once he entered the system, leading to a breakout performance in ‘25.
Across three levels last season, Wiggins spun a 2.19 ERA with 97 strikeouts and 36 walks in 78 innings between stops at High-A South Bend (six games), Double-A Knoxville (10) and Triple-A Iowa (three). The available Statcast data from his Minor League season included a 97.7 mph average on his fastball (100.4 mph max), alongside his slider and changeup.
“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.”
At the moment, Chicago’s rotation includes Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Horton. Colin Rea, Javier Assad, Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks offer depth behind that group, and Justin Steele (left elbow surgery last April) is aiming to return at some point in the first half.
Circumstances led to Horton’s climb to the Majors last season, and he finished as the runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. If Wiggins finds his way to Chicago this summer, it will likely require a similar mix of performance and opportunity. Horton, who has known Wiggins since their days as prep stars in Oklahoma, said it is important for the prospect not to get caught up in when his MLB debut might happen.
“He’s a great kid. He’s going to learn really fast,” Horton said in January. “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.”