Cubs Prospect Jaxon Wiggins’ New Role Could Get Him Promoted Soon

It has no doubt been a tough year for Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins. 

Wiggins entered the 2026 season as a top-100 prospect on MLB Pipeline. He was coming off a breakthrough campaign in 2025 and was expected to be a key part of Chicago’s rotation at some point in the summer. 

However, Wiggins has not followed up on that. He threw the ball well in his first start with the Iowa Cubs this year (four innings of one-run ball) before struggling in his second start and landing on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation on April 15. 

Wiggins spent multiple weeks on the injured list while recovering from that elbow injury. He missed more than two months and eventually began a rehab assignment at the rookie ball level on June 15. The Cubs’ No. 6 prospect actually threw the ball on his rehab assignment, allowing just three earned runs across 9 ⅓ innings (2.89 ERA). 

But he really struggled once he returned to Triple-A in mid-July. Wiggins allowed three runs across 2 ⅔ innings on July 10, gave up five runs across 2 ⅓ innings on July 17, allowed three earned runs across 2 ⅔ innings on July 23, gave up three runs across 3 ⅔ innings on July 29, and allowed five runs across 2 ⅔ innings on August 4. 

After those five rough outings in which he allowed 19 earned runs across 14 innings pitched (12.21 ERA), the Cubs decided to switch Wiggins' role completely. They quickly transitioned him to the bullpen to see if that would help the young right-hander. 

Surprisingly, that has helped him big-time. 

The 24-year-old has thrown eight scoreless innings in relief since moving to the bullpen on August 11. He has allowed four hits, issued five walks, and struck out 10 batters across eight innings pitched. Wiggins has also thrown more than one inning in each of his last two relief appearances. 

It's been nice to see Wiggins thrive in this bullpen role. He finally seems to have his confidence back, and his stuff is playing really well. This strong stretch from him on the mound could earn him a promotion to the big-league roster sometime later this month. 

It remains to be seen if the Cubs will call up Wiggins, but if he continues to pitch like this, he could help a bullpen that has struggled over the last few weeks. His plus fastball and solid changeup could play well in the big leagues.