A handful of Cubs prospect items for your enjoyment this afternoon …
Top Cubs pitching prospect (or just top overall Cubs prospect, depending on whom you ask) Jaxon Wiggins will turn some heads this spring:From striking out an All-Star in live BP to having a locker next to a big league vet, Jaxon Wiggins has been a big part of #Cubs camp.More on the club's top-ranked pitching prospect and his "electric arm": t.co/sQ1SSU7m4V pic.twitter.com/756z3vYTwF
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 21, 2026 “He made a lot of progress last year,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, per the article. “To a point where, another step forward, and he’s certainly in the [big league] 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.” What’s interesting about that assessment from Counsell is how much it reminds me of Cade Horton’s transition to the big leagues. Everyone could see that his stuff was big-league-caliber, but what they needed to see more of was him trusting the quality of that stuff. No, you don’t just chuck meatballs up there, but if you’ve got three plus pitches that you can execute, then you don’t have to be so fine with your attempted location. You don’t have to nibble. You can let the stuff eat. That’s a big part of why we saw Horton’s walk rate plummet in the big leagues (and his strikeout rate along with it, but then it climbed as the year went on and he got more and more comfortable). I could see that same kind of walk-rate-halving happening for Wiggins. Also, since we’re on the subject: yes, the walks and non-competitive pitches are absolutely a priority for Jaxon Wiggins’ development, and I don’t want to brush past that as a serious risk factor for him starting long-term. But I feel like not enough folks are giving him credit for significantly reducing his walk rate from 2024 to 2025, despite (1) improving his strikeout rate (2) against better competition. Wiggins’ walk rate was at 14.2% overall in 2024, but that fell to 11.5% in 2025. The latter is still too high for a starting pitcher, but why are we yada-yada’ing over a near three percentage point drop? That’s really good! And encouraging! Good to see Brandon Birdsell throwing after last year’s surgery:Good to see @little_bird34 starting to throw as part of his rehab! Brandon will probably be out all year but he’s been a top pitching prospect in the Cubs system. #Cubs #ST2026 pic.twitter.com/65AtnjTxr8
— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) February 23, 2026 Birdsell, 25, was the Cubs’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, but unfortunately pitched very little in 2025 thanks to an early-year injury and then a late-year surgery. It’s possible he’ll miss the entirety of 2026, but, like I said, good to see he’s throwing a little bit here in February. I really wish I could’ve watched these two pitch yesterday:Jackson Kirkpatrick went undrafted out of a D2 schoolTyler Ras spent his offseason as a free agent coaching youth travel ballNeither pitcher has been above High-A yet they both sat 97-98 MPH with 19” of vertical break on their fastballs in Monday’s Cubs Spring Training gameBaseball’s different
— Greg Huss (@outofthevines.bsky.social) 2026-02-24T04:35:19.138Z Obviously you’re betting some long odds if you think an undrafted 20-something signing, or a 20-something released player, is going to break out as a big league reliever in the short-term. But the thing is, that’s true for the Cubs’ reclamation project pitchers, too, isn’t it? And the whole idea there is to get some talented guys in the door, see how they can do working with your staff, and maybe one or two really do figure something back out. Well, that’s the case for these kinds of younger, unestablished signings, too. You grab a whole bunch of arms who can do something you like, you work with them for a year or two to see if something clicks, and then you hope that one or two per year really turn into plausible big leaguers down the road. The Cubs have taken a whole lot of those swings over the last few years, and we could potentially see the fruits soon. At a minimum, it certainly helps if you’re good at identifying candidates to add a lot of velocity like Kirkpatrick and Ras. Some more on Tyler Ras’s cool story:One of the most unique signings for the Chicago Cubs this offseason might be right-handed pitcher Tyler Ras. Ras has been living in West Des Moines and coaching the club baseball team, the @IowaSticks. t.co/O7ad7lpQcA
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) February 23, 2026 This guy had a strong second half at Myrtle Beach:Great to see Cubs minor league infielder @tysouthisene in camp this spring. Ty is so much fun to watch on defense – great anticipation and always seems to be in the right spot to make the play. #Cubs #ST2026 pic.twitter.com/ma8PUhivEf
— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) February 21, 2026 Ty Southisene was a pretty significant prospect out of high school in 2024, thus the Cubs gave him a million bucks to sign out of the 4th round. He didn’t debut until 2025, and he got more and more productive as the year went on (.319/.450/.372/155 wRC+, 15.7% BB, 12.1% K). As you can see in the photos, he’s not the biggest guy in the world, and the question as the 20-year-old climbs the ladder is whether he’ll hit for enough power to keep pitchers and defenses honest. Without it, the walk rate drops, the BABIP gets squeezed, and the productivity in the overall slash line evaporates. In this context, you’re not necessarily talking about home runs to goose the slugging percentage; you’re talking about making hard enough, consistent enough, quality contact in the air to support the production. Pretty excited to see how he looks this year. Probably doesn’t get talked about enough.Hence then, the article about cubs prospect notes wiggins birdsell kirkpatrick ras southisene was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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