After months sidelined by elbow inflammation, Chicago’s top pitching prospect flashed elite velocity but battled command issues during a rocky return to the Iowa Cubs rotation.
Lost in all the shuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft this past weekend was Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins making his highly anticipated return to Triple-A.
Wiggins had not pitched at the Triple-A level since early April. He threw four innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts with the Iowa Cubs in his first start of the season and allowed four runs across four innings in his second start there on April 4.
Then, the right-hander was placed on the Minor League injured list due to right elbow inflammation. He spent multiple weeks recovering from that elbow issue, and the Cubs slowly brought him along.
Wiggins was down for over two months before appearing in his first rehab assignment outing on June 15 with the ACL Cubs at the rookie ball level. He looked good in that start, allowing just one earned run across two innings.
Chicago then moved his rehab assignment to High-A, where he made three starts with the South Bend Cubs. Wiggins gave up two runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts across 7 ⅓ innings in those three outings.
Despite his last start at High-A being cut short due to rain, the Cubs’ No. 3 prospect showed enough for the front office to activate him from the injured list. He was officially activated on July 10 and made his third start of the season at Triple-A that same day.
Wiggins struggled a bit in his return to Triple-A this past weekend. He allowed three runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts across 2 ⅔ innings against Triple-A St. Paul while throwing 39 of 67 pitches for strikes (58.2%).
The 24-year-old was definitely shaking off some rust early in this outing. He walked two of the first three batters he faced and allowed three runs in the first inning. Wiggins issued two walks and gave up two hits in that first frame.
However, he did settle in a bit after that first inning. He had a 1-2-3 second inning, which included striking out two St. Paul hitters. Wiggins set down Cody Morissette on a high 95.8 mph fastball and struck out Walker Jenkins looking on a 95.8 mph fastball on the inside corner.
It’s obviously a nice sign that Wiggins is healthy and pitching at the Triple-A level again. He topped out at 98 mph on his fastball in this outing and will look to make up for lost time after missing multiple months due to that elbow injury.
The expectation before the 2026 season was that Wiggins would make his MLB debut sometime this summer. However, his timeline has obviously been pushed back a bit following that three-month injury.
How he performs over the next six to eight weeks will likely determine whether the Cubs call him up in September.
Right now, though, Wiggins is not ready to pitch in the big leagues. He has made just six career starts at Triple-A and has a 5.75 ERA in those outings.
