Chicago Cubs Pitching Prospect Ascending Team's Minor League Pipeline Rankings

One Chicago Cubs pitching prospect stood out with his performance this past season.

Feb 27, 2024; Mesa, Arizona, USA; General view of a Chicago Cubs glove, hat and glasses in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds during a spring training game at Sloan Park. / Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs have one of the strongest minor league systems in baseball.

They are overflowing with talented young players, which is part of the reason why they decided to pull off a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros, acquiring star right fielder Kyle Tucker.

The star of the package returning to the Astros is third baseman Cam Smith.

A first-round pick in the 2024 MLB draft, he is already the No. 1 ranked prospect in their farm system, but in Chicago, he was one of many youngsters the organization is excited about.

Their top-rated prospect, fellow third baseman Matt Shaw, now has an open spot to earn on the Major League roster because Isaac Paredes was part of the deal, along with Hayden Wesneski, heading to Houston.

The Cubs currently have seven minor leaguers ranked in the top 100 of baseball, several of whom are knocking on the door of the MLB.

Their depth is impressive, as there are several players outside the top few who have begun making a name for themselves.

One of the prospects to keep an eye on is right-handed pitcher Jaxon Wiggins.

Over at MLB.com, he was selected as the player who improved his stock the most in 2024, and he has the talent to quickly move through the system.

“Wiggins went in 2023's supplemental second round despite Tommy John surgery wiping out his junior season at Arkansas, where he had only sporadic success. He ended 2024 as the best healthy pitching prospect in the Cubs system, showing a mid-90s fastball that reaches 99 mph and flashing a mid-80s slider with two-plane depth. He posted a 4.37 ERA, .194 opponent average and 71 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings while climbing from Rookie ball to High-A South Bend.”

Being selected that highly despite not pitching in over a year shows what Chicago thinks of Wiggins.

He was dominant at the Single-A level, making six starts and throwing 21 innings, allowing only five earned runs with 26 strikeouts and five walks.

In High-A, he wasn’t nearly as successful since his walk rate jumped from 2.1 per nine innings to 5.4. Walks were an issue in college and Rookie Ball as well, so it is something the coaching staff will work on fixing.

Confidence looks to be an issue, as he doesn’t always trust that he can throw his secondary pitches for strikes and will sometimes overthrow his fastball.

The talent is there, so just a few issues need to be ironed out, which should come as he knocks off the rust from his time recovering from Tommy John surgery.