We're about to enter prime hug watch territory in MLB as fans across the league will be glued to their screens looking for any signs of a potential trade going down. The Chicago Cubs are projected to be active in the trade market and according to recent reports they've been trying to pull off at least one major deal during the month of June. A notable Cubs prospect has recently been held out of games in the minor leagues and his absence is further sparking trade speculation.
Cade Horton and Ben Brown have started their MLB careers, while Brandon Birdsell is returning from a shoulder injury, which leaves Jaxon Wiggins as the organization's top pitching prospect. The 23-year-old was selected in the second round of the 2023 draft out of Arkansas and in his second season in pro-ball the right-hander is showing top-100 prospect potential.
So far in 2025, Wiggins has recorded a 2.09 ERA in 60.1 innings total innings between his time with the South Bend Cubs and Knoxville Smokies. The right-hander's last start came on June 20, a four-inning effort on the road against Biloxi Shuckers. Wiggins was scheduled to start last Thursday, as he was the announced starting pitcher on the Smokies' website.
Then, Wiggins didn't make the start on Sunday, when he was once again the announced starter at Double-A.
Monitoring minor league players even in 2025 can be a challenge. Even when there are injuries teams don't necessarily give out much info and details are provided after the fact, sometimes weeks after a player has been absent.
Yet, you do normally see something pop up on the transactions page when a player does go on the injured list in the minors and there's nothing about Wiggins as of Monday afternoon. So, it's easy to let the mind race and wonder if the Cubs sat out Wiggins on purpose this past week because he's involved in trade discussions.
The Cubs have been linked to several pitchers in trade rumors recently, including Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals, Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates and David Bednar as well. The Cubs have also checked in with the Miami Marlins about Sandy Alcántara and Edward Cabrera. During the past couple days there have been new reports, suggesting that the Cubs are searching for a hitter on the trade market too with Eugenio Suárez among others linked to Chicago.
On Monday, Wiggins was named to the 2025 All-Star Futures Game on the NL side.
The big question now is whether or not his next start will come as a member of the Cubs'r organization or if he'll be pitching in a different minor league system. Hopefully Wiggins is healthy and there is no injury.
