Jaxon Wiggins Stats & Scouting Report

IP	31.2
ERA	4.55
WHIP	1.42
BB/9	5.4
SO/9	10.8

Full name Jaxon Lee Wiggins
Born 10/03/2001 in Roland, OK
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Arkansas
Drafted in the 2C round (68th overall) by the Chicago Cubs in 2023 (signed for $1,401,500).

View Draft Report

School: Arkansas Source: 4YR

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.8
BA Grade:50/Extreme
Tools:Fastball: 60. Slider: 55. Curveball: 45. Changeup: 50. Control: 35.

Wiggins was a projectable prep pitcher with a big frame, solid fastball and advanced feel for a changeup, but took a few steps forward in the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Arkansas. After sitting in the low 90s in high school, Wiggins sat in the 94-96 mph range in 2021 and touched triple-digits. He posted a 5.09 ERA over 23 innings with 28 strikeouts (11.0 K/9) and 14 walks (5.5 BB/9) during his freshman campaign, mostly out of the bullpen. Moving into a full-time starting role in 2022, Wiggins continued to show loud stuff and erratic control, with 82 strikeouts and 43 walks in 66 innings. He wasn’t able to continue his development in 2023, as a Tommy John surgery before the season kept him off the field and will make him a complicated prospect for teams to evaluate given his impressive stuff and frame, and spotty track record of strikes. When healthy, Wiggins threw a fastball that sat 94-95 mph and touched 97 in a starting role, with impressive vertical break and extension to go with it thanks to his 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame. While he has mostly pitched off that fastball, he also mixes in a mid-80s slider that is still developing, a changeup in the upper 80s with solid tumble and an infrequently thrown 12-to-6 curveball.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme.

Track Record: The 6-foot-6 Wiggins flashed plus stuff in high school and faced huge expectations when hit campus at Arkansas. He struggled to a 6.17 ERA in his first two seasons in Fayetteville and then missed his junior season after having Tommy John surgery. The Cubs were still willing to bet on Wiggins’ massive upside and drafted him 68th overall in 2023. Wiggins signed for $1.4 million and debuted in May 2024, making 18 starts totaling 59.2 innings between the Arizona Complex League, Low-A and High-A. It was an encouraging performance which featured a 4.37 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 28% strikeout rate and a .194 opponent average.

Scouting Report: Stepping off the bus, Wiggins has the look of a prototype starter. He’s tall, long-limbed, strong and athletic. Wiggins moves fluidly on the mound with simple mechanics and delivers the ball from a high three-quarters slot. He throws exclusively from the stretch and struggles to command his arsenal. As far as stuff goes, there are very few pitchers with a velocity-and-movement combination better than Wiggins. He throws a four-pitch mix led by a four-seam fastball that sits 96-97 mph and touches 100 with above-average ride and armside run. Wiggins’ secondaries are led by his cut-slider, which is in the 85-88 mph range. It is his best bat-missing pitch and a driver of ground balls. Wiggins’ changeup is inconsistent, but he’s shown bat-missing skills and glimpses of average command with his offspeed stuff. Wiggins also throws a high-70s, two-plane curveball, but it’s a secondary part of his arsenal. Coming off Tommy John surgery, his command was hit or miss, and it grades no better than near-average.

The Future: If Wiggins can find more strikes, he has rotation upside. It not, he has stuff that would fit in high-leverage relief.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 40
BA Grade: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Wiggins tantalized as a 6-foot-6 righthander with an explosive fastball at Arkansas, but his results never quite matched his stuff. He logged a 6.17 ERA over two seasons while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen and missed his junior year after having Tommy John surgery. The Cubs decided to take a chance on his raw ability and drafted him No. 68 overall in the supplemental second round. He signed for an over-slot $1,401,500.

Scouting Report: Wiggins is a physically-imposing righthander with the stuff to match. His fastball sits 94-97 mph as a starter and ramps up to 98-100 in relief. His fastball gets on hitters quickly with the extension he generates from his large frame and is an overwhelming pitch when it’s in the strike zone. Wiggins complements his fastball with an 84-88 mph slider with two-plane depth that gets swings and misses and has above-average potential. He also has a potentially average mid-80s changeup with late tumble and a downer, upper-70s curveball that is a fringy but usable pitch. Wiggns’ stuff is loud, but he has well below-average control and is inconsistent in his execution. He is prone to overthrowing his fastball and frequently falls behind in counts.

The Future: Wiggins is set to return from surgery in 2024. He’ll get a chance to start but projects to be a hard-throwing reliever.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 30

Draft Prospects

School: Arkansas Source: 4YR

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.8
BA Grade:50/Extreme
Tools:Fastball: 60. Slider: 55. Curveball: 45. Changeup: 50. Control: 35.

Wiggins was a projectable prep pitcher with a big frame, solid fastball and advanced feel for a changeup, but took a few steps forward in the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Arkansas. After sitting in the low 90s in high school, Wiggins sat in the 94-96 mph range in 2021 and touched triple-digits. He posted a 5.09 ERA over 23 innings with 28 strikeouts (11.0 K/9) and 14 walks (5.5 BB/9) during his freshman campaign, mostly out of the bullpen. Moving into a full-time starting role in 2022, Wiggins continued to show loud stuff and erratic control, with 82 strikeouts and 43 walks in 66 innings. He wasn’t able to continue his development in 2023, as a Tommy John surgery before the season kept him off the field and will make him a complicated prospect for teams to evaluate given his impressive stuff and frame, and spotty track record of strikes. When healthy, Wiggins threw a fastball that sat 94-95 mph and touched 97 in a starting role, with impressive vertical break and extension to go with it thanks to his 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame. While he has mostly pitched off that fastball, he also mixes in a mid-80s slider that is still developing, a changeup in the upper 80s with solid tumble and an infrequently thrown 12-to-6 curveball.
Wiggins was still playing basketball when the Oklahoma state basketball tournament was cancelled because of coronavirus, so he never got on the baseball field. An all-state 3A forward who averaged 16 points a game as a senior, Wiggins is a 6-foot-6 righthander with plenty of athleticism and projectability. An Arkansas signee, Wiggins started to show more consistency in locating his above-average 90-94 mph fastball and he has an advanced changeup for an Oklahoman prep arm. Scouts haven’t seen much feel for spinning a breaking ball yet. In a five-round draft, he’s more likely to get to school, where he’ll have some time to fill out, gain consistency and try to learn a slider or curveball.