Jaxon Wiggins is finally moving again, and that alone is a welcome sign for the Cubs.
The organization’s top pitching prospect has spent the past stretch working his way back from elbow inflammation that sidelined him for nearly two months, and the latest signs point to real progress. Wiggins had been down in Arizona ramping back up after his last outing for the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A on April 4. He logged one appearance in the Arizona Complex League before moving into a rehab assignment with the South Bend Cubs at High-A.
That’s a notable step for a pitcher who has had a hard time staying on the mound since the Cubs took him in the second round out of Arkansas in 2023. Since Cade Horton officially moved out of that spot in the summer of 2025, Wiggins has been the No. 1 pitching prospect in the organization, but Chicago has handled him carefully every step of the way.
The numbers from 2025 show why. Wiggins put up a 2.19 ERA in the minors, but he only made 19 appearances and threw 78 innings. That kind of workload is exactly why the Cubs are likely to keep patience front and center, even with the big-league pitching staff in rough shape this season.
For now, a 2026 Cubs contribution is back on the table, but it doesn’t sound like something that will happen early. Bruce Levine indicated that if Wiggins does become an option for the major-league club, it would most likely come much later in the regular season.
Still, the last week has been encouraging. Wiggins threw 2.2 innings on June 21, then followed that up with a sharp outing on June 27, when he struck out four, walked none, and allowed only two hits across 3.2 innings.
The biggest issue for much of the spring was the silence around his status. There wasn’t much to report on Wiggins until June, which made the shutdown feel even more concerning. Now he’s back on the mound, and the next step is getting him settled back into his normal routine in Triple-A.
Even then, there’s still a hurdle to clear. Wiggins has to show he can throw enough strikes to be a usable MLB arm this year. If he does, the Cubs could find a role for him, even if it’s in short bursts out of the bullpen.
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Colin Rea gave the Cubs a steady five innings to keep the game in hand early, but the real story was the way Chicago kept adding layers to the blowout. The lineup had multiple milestones woven into the avalanche, and Pete Crow-Armstrongs June has also put him in a rare historical class, a reminder that this stretch is becoming about more than just one hot week. [Read more 🡒]