Pic via Arkansas Athletics
Sometimes, there’s just a certain buzz on players in the off-season. I, for one, do re-evaluate what I think about some players by watching video or talking to someone in the organization like a coach, coordinator, or a teammate. This winter, we’ve already seen that buzz come from some of the breakouts we’ve mentioned. This week, one player who is starting to garner some buzz for 2024 is 2023 second round pick Jaxon Wiggins.
The Cubs took Wiggins out of the University of Arkansas despite missing most of the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery. But it was in the fall of 2022 that Wiggins really put together some impressive moments. It was thought after the ‘23 season that he might not be ready to pitch until midsummer ‘24. That’s starting to fall by the wayside a little bit. While some may still hold that estimate to be true, that debut will become more likely when we get to see Wiggins in an actual game that matters. We’ve already seen pictures from our own Rich Biesterfeld about what Wiggins is doing in his rehab throwing program. Wiggins is not throwing at 100% just yet, but he’s ahead of schedule. Odds are that Wiggins will begin the year in extended spring training for at least a month. The Cubs will probably keep that arm nice and warm and not subject it to any kind of cooler weather just quite yet.
The Wiggins Show really won’t begin until he reaches full-season baseball. That could be at Myrtle Beach, or it could be in South Bend. Odds are he’s going to make it to Myrtle Beach first. When he gets there, that is when the fun is going to begin.
The 6-foot-6 and now 22-year-old really moved up most draft boards after fall ball in 2022 and he flashed as a guy who could possibly be a first round pick. Here is what MLB Pipeline had to say of the skills:
When healthy, Wiggins sported some of the best fastball velocity in college baseball, sitting at 94-97 mph and peaking at 99, though his heater can get straight and is vulnerable when he doesn’t locate it well. He can get swings-and-misses with a mid-80s slider that reaches 89 mph with two-plane depth, as well as with a mid-80s changeup with fade and tumble. He toys with a downer upper-70s curveball as well.
Even if Wiggins is only pitching one inning a start in extended spring training, that’s still going to be very exciting for me. I’ll be interested to hear what Rich Biesterfeld has to say and what Arizona Phil has to write about when he does debut as a Cub. And that fun is going to continue all summer long as he goes from 20 pitches to 30 to 40 and hopefully 5 innings and 80 pitches by the end of the season. I’m hoping to see that upper 90s heat. I’m hoping to see how the Cubs have worked on his slider and what kind of changes we do see there.
The fact that he’s throwing soft toss at this stage of the game just a year removed is phenomenal. Usually, most clubs hold to a 16-18 month time table before they pitch again. That actually puts Wiggins in a Cub uniform sometime between June and August. That’s not that far away when you really think about it. The fact that he could be ready long before August is a testament to his athleticism and work ethic.
Some of you may have seen the Wiggins selection as a bit of a lottery pick as there are no guarantees coming back from TJS. I’m pretty excited to find out exactly what kind of pitcher he’s going to be in 2024. Who knows, a year from today we may be talking about Wiggins like we are about Cade Horton right now.
And that’s really not that out of reach for him, to be quite frank.
