The Chicago Cubs are working their way towards Opening Day, 2026 in the unique position of not needing any starting rotation aid (other than continued good health).
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The five designated starters (Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga) are locked into their spots, with ace Justin Steele slated to return to the rotation some time before the All-Star break. Then, behind all of them, there are rotation insurance policies in the form of Colin Rea, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, and Jordan Wicks.
Overall, the Cubs find themselves in a pretty good position when it comes to starting pitching.
And this kind of good position also takes pressure off their top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins, who will be under no added stress to make the big league squad and can be brought along at his own speed.
But this is baseball. Injuries happen. Sometimes prospects get rushed along out of necessity.
Jaxon Wiggins and the Cade Horton path
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Last season, for example, the Cubs’ previous top pitching prospect, Cade Horton, was pushed up into a major league role in May, following the injuries of Steele and Imanaga, after being deemed not yet major league-ready in spring training.
That call-up went spectacularly well as Horton found his footing and became one of the best pitchers in all of baseball from July until his season-ending rib injury in late September. When the dust settled on his 2025, the young arm posted a 2.67 ERA with an 11-4 record in 23 appearances and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
This year, Wiggins is taking the Horton role in spring training as a not yet big league-ready pitcher with big-time potential. But, seeing how things played out with Horton last season, Wiggins is certainly being eyeballed as a 2026 major league fit.
Horton and Wiggins, little league foes
An interesting sidenote to this Horton-Wiggins tie-in is that the two 24-year-olds, who were both fast-tracked through the minors, are also childhood competitors dating back to their little league days in Oklahoma.
“Jaxon’s always been a guy that’s been so gifted athletically,” Horton told MLB.com. “Electric arm. I remember in Little League, he was the hardest thrower. It was always an elite arm…
“I know what Jaxon’s about…I know the work he puts in and how bad he wants it.”
In Horton, Wiggins has the kind of sympathetic ear that Horton lacked last spring. Horton knows, intimately, everything Wiggins is going through and might go through if he gets the big league call-up.
“It’s all about being where your feet are,” Horton said, referring to advice he may offer to Wiggins. “That really helped me last year — not getting so caught up in the future and what could happen. He’s going to be a big part of this team, and so just being where his feet are is the biggest thing, I think. That allowed me to go out there and play free and not really necessarily worry about things you can’t control.”
High hopes in 2026
Hopes are high for the hard-throwing 6-foot-6 Wiggins. In 2025, across three levels, he posted a 2.19 ERA in 78 innings with 97 total strikeouts. He’s being regarded by many as potentially the last homegrown Cubs starting pitching prospect for a good, long while.
“He made a lot of progress last year,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “To a point where, another step forward, and he’s certainly in the conversation. … He’s just got to get a little more consistent, execute at a little higher level. Be competitive with a bigger percentage of pitches. There’s not necessarily pitch development, in terms of new pitches, that needs to happen. It’s just, harness his stuff.”
Wiggins, himself, doesn’t seem to be overwhelmed by pressure as he works out with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee in Mesa.
“The only goal I have is just to do what I do — try to be the best version of myself,” Wiggins said. “And when that opportunity comes, I want to take advantage of it.”
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