Getting to Know: Cubs second-rounder Jaxon Wiggins |
Through two days of the MLB Draft, the Cubs have shifted their focus from adding pitching to their minor league system and have gone back to adding more bats. Granted, many of these bats are years away from knocking on the door, but the Cubs did need to add some bats in this year's draft, as plenty of prospects will be pushed to the MLB in the next year.
However, even with loads of incoming bats soon to be added to the organization, the Cubs continue to focus on pitching help where they see fit and added another arm to begin day two of the draft. Despite not picking in round two, the Cubs did have a pick just outside the round in the compensatory round, where they added the University of Arkansas Pitcher Jaxon Wiggins with pick No. 68. Graded as the 103rd-best prospect, Wiggins was primarily graded as a third or fourth-round pick, so some may see this as a reach to take him this high. Clearly, the Cubs had to like something about him to go and get him here, and you have to wonder if his 6-6 and 225-pound frame is one of those things. Wiggins is a big pitcher who may not be done filling out his body quite yet. He uses his whole frame to generate tons of velocity, and at just 21 years old, he still has plenty of room to grow. Although he fell to this point in the draft, there is a ton to like about Wiggins, and that goes back to his days in high school in Oklahoma. It was then that he flashed first-round potential and was regarded as one of the best prospects in the entire state. He earned a spot on the US National Team following his senior year and was looking to take the next step as a pitcher once he arrived in Arkansas. Since arriving in Arkansas, Wiggins has struggled, especially during the 2022 season when he was named the Sunday starter for the Razorbacks. In 17 appearances, including 15 starts, on the mound, Wiggins went 6-3 with a 6.55 ERA in 66.0 innings. He Struck out 82, allowed 51 runs (48 earned) on 65 hits and 43 walks. Wiggins also limited opposing hitters to a .253 batting average on the year. Going back to his freshman year in 2021 and Wiggins posted a 3-1 record with a 5.09 ERA, so the ERA was better than his sophomore season. The numbers could be better, but pitching in the SEC at such a young age takes a little adjusting. Looking to put forth a tremendous Junior season in 2023, things went south in a hurry as his elbow began to bother him in the fall before having season-ending Tommy John surgery in January. That could have been a reason for his struggles in 2022, but that is something that may never be known. I get what most of you are thinking. Why select a guy this high when he is coming off a lost season and struggled in his first two? The stuff is there for him to figure things out, as his fastball sits in the 94-97 MPH range. Wiggins also peaked at 99 MPH in 2022 and has continued to show one of the best average fastball velocities in this year's class. Velocity or not, Wiggins is vulnerable to giving up a lot of runs if he can't locate that heater, which makes his secondary pitches so important. His best off-speed pitch is the mid-80s slide that generates a ton of swings and misses across the board. He also has a fading change-up that sits around 85, as those are the two most frequently used off-speed pitches. Wiggins has also started working on an upper-70s curveball to give him a four-pitch mix, but don't expect him to use that pitch much right now. While Wiggins has the size and stuff to become a valuable piece to this organization, it will all come down to control for him. His history of falling behind in the count has hurt him in college, and it will only get worse at the pro level should that not change. His most significant issues are not trusting his secondary pitches and overthrowing his heater. The Cubs will undoubtedly work with him on that once they get him in the pitching lab. Scouts did like the progress they saw last fall before he landed on the IL, but now it becomes a matter of if not when he returns to the mound if those improvements continue.
