Cade Horton's season-ending injury complicates Jaxon Wiggins' timeline. The Cubs must resist the urge to rush their top prospect despite pitching staff needs.
The Chicago Cubs did not receive great news regarding Cade Horton’s forearm injury on Tuesday.
Horton left his start early on Friday due to some forearm discomfort. While the right-hander appeared optimistic following his early departure, an MRI revealed a torn UCL for the young pitcher.
The 24-year-old will now miss the rest of the 2026 season as he is set to undergo season-ending elbow surgery. The Cubs won’t know the full extent of his elbow surgery (Tommy John/internal brace procedure) until the actual surgery takes place.
What we do now is that the Cubs will need to replace Horton in the rotation for the foreseeable future.
Last year, the Cubs called up their top pitching prospect in Horton when injuries in the rotation started to pile up. This year, though, the Cubs should not be calling up their top pitching prospect in Jaxon Wiggins to replace Horton in the rotation.
The team can not rush Wiggins’ development in light of Horton’s recent injury.
Wiggins is not ready for a spot on the big league roster yet. Although he looked fantastic in his first Triple-A start by throwing four innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts, MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 overall prospect is still a work in progress.
In his most recent start, he allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts across four innings. The walks continue to be a problem for Wiggins, and it’s clear that he needs more work down in the Minors.
The 24-year-old has only made five starts at Triple-A so far. He has allowed 10 earned runs across 17 ⅔ innings (5.09 ERA) to go with a 13.8% walk rate in those five outings. Both his ERA and walk rate need to improve before the Cubs even think about calling him up.
The North Siders must remain patient with Wiggins, even despite the latest injury to Horton. The Cubs’ top pitching prospect isn’t quite ready yet, and the team shouldn’t rush his development.
There are still too many concerns with Wiggins right now. His control is a little wild at times, and his Triple-A numbers suggest that he needs more time in the Minors. He has a 1.52 WHIP in his 17 ⅔ innings of work with the Iowa Cubs.
However, Wiggins should get his shot in the Majors later in the year. The hard-throwing right-hander could eventually find himself part of the Cubs’ rotation in the summer months. For now, though, he should stay in the Minors.
The Cubs can survive without him for the next few months while he continues to develop his game down at Triple-A.