Cubs keep Arkansas pipeline strong by drafting Jaxon Wiggins
The city of Chicago might soon become Fayetteville-north for Arkansas baseball fans after the Chicago Cubs drafted Razorback right-handed pitcher Jaxon Wiggins with the 68th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft on Sunday evening.
Wiggins is the fifth Diamond Hog to be drafted by the Cubs since 2018, and the organization has now taken at least one Arkansas player in three straight drafts. The first of three compensation picks to finish out the second round of the draft, Wiggins is the second Arkansas pitcher to be a top-75 pick in as many years.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound junior joins Connor Noland (2022), Christian Franklin (2021), Casey Opitz (2021) and Jake Reindl (2018) as recent draft selections by the Cubs.
During the 2022 MLB Draft, former Razorback right-handed pitcher Peyton Pallette was selected No. 62 overall by the Chicago White Sox. Pallette and Wiggins have one very notable thing in common — both suffered a torn UCL before the 2022 and 2023 seasons, respectively, after they were each in line to be the team's ace.
The news of Wiggins' fate was revealed on Feb. 9 prior to the start of Arkansas' 2023 season, which resulted in a Fayetteville Regional exit at the hands of the TCU Horned Frogs. The Roland, Oklahoma, native was in line to be the Friday night starter for the Razorbacks' pitching staff.
“We feel bad for Jaxon,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said in a statement following the news of Wiggins' injury. “He worked incredibly hard over the offseason and was prepared to lead our rotation. While we are certainly disappointed that he won’t be able to see the results of his hard work on the mound this season, our priority is his health and recovery.”
As a sophomore in 2022, Wiggins appeared in 17 games and started 15 for the Diamond Hogs. He posted a 6-3 record and 6.55 ERA in 66.0 innings with 82 strikeouts and 43 walks. The hard-throwing right-hander limited opponents to a .253 batting average on the season.
Wiggins' best outing came on April 16, 2022, in a win over LSU when he struck out a career-high nine batters and surrendered just two earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched. He also went a career-long 7.1 innings with eight strikeouts in a win over Missouri on March 27, 2022.
As a freshman in 2021, Wiggins appeared in 17 games and started four for the Diamond Hogs. He recorded a 5.09 ERA, struck out 28, walked 14 and gave up 13 earned runs on 20 hits. Wiggins also posted four saves, which was second on the team behind Golden Spikes Award winner Kevin Kopps (11).
"A 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," MLB Pipeline wrote about Wiggins. "He can get swings and misses with a mid-80s slider that reaches 89 mph with two-plane depth, as well as a mid-80s changeup with fade and tumble. He toys with a downer upper-70s curveball as well."
Due to the injury, Wiggins still won't throw for while. It's fair to say he could be expected to be ready by the start of spring training in 2024, but that is determined by how his rehab goes.
Along with Pallette, Arkansas also had catcher Michael Turner drafted in the 9th round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the other Chicago team — the White Sox. Outfielder Chris Lanzilli signed with the White Sox as an undrafted free agent last year and former outfielder Andrew Benintendi currently has a .280 batting average with 88 hits and 23 RBIs for the White Sox in the 2023 season.
Also worth noting, former Kansas State pitcher Jordan Wicks — a native of Conway, Arkansas — was a first round selection by the Cubs in 2022. Wicks is already a member of the team's Triple-A affiliate, the Iowa Cubs.
Wiggins was the Hogs’ lone selection on Day 1 of the draft and he is the 253rd overall draft selection in program history. He's the 17th Arkansas pitcher drafted since 2019 as well as the 13th taken in the first 10 rounds. Sixty-Four Analytics values Wiggins' draft slot at $1.10 million.
Arkansas also had four signees drafted on Sunday evening and more are expected to hear their names called in the next two days, along with other Diamond Hog players. Click here for the latest updates regarding the Razorbacks and the MLB Draft, which will start back up for rounds 3-10 at 1 p.m. CT Monday.