Carter Hawkins and the State of the Cubs' Youth Movement

The General Manager Meetings took place this week in Las Vegas, and while the Cubs have yet to make any significant moves, GM Carter Hawkins provided some clarity on the Cubs' youth situation. The Cubs' system is not one of the more ballyhooed in the league, but that doesn't mean there aren't interesting prospects within (and on the horizon).

Josiah Hartshorn Living Up to Cubs' "Gold Standard" on Defense

No prospect in the Cubs' system had a larger breakout than 19-year-old outfield prospect Josiah Hartshorn. He was a 2025 sixth-round pick, but his bonus immediately let you know what the Cubs thought about him. They paid him a $2-million signing bonus, the second-highest of the team's draft class. He rewarded that faith in his first full pro season with one of the most impressive seasons imaginable, making it to Double-A as a teenager and hitting more than 20 bombs on the year—the first time a Cubs prospect had done that since Corey Patterson. 

One of the questions that has come with Hartshorn is about his defensive future. The teenager is not a small human, listed already at 6 feet and 220 pounds, and that size has created doubt over whether or not he would be able to maintain an outfield position as he matures. Currently, he's athletic enough (and has a strong enough arm) to play right field, but whether or not he'll maintain that ability is debatable. 

"He had a great defensive year as well," Hawkins said. "Great at first base, had some good outfield for us. I think there’s a standard that our major-league team has really created defensively, almost our gold standard, if you will. That I think [has] created a lot of great pressure on our minor leaguers to step up in that space, and hopefully that’s something that developmentally guys really take pride in, and put ourselves in a position to where this defense that we have isn’t just a one-year, two-year thing. It’s something that really defines the Cubs moving forward. But Josiah is definitely taking that to heart."

It's clear with this response that the team still believes in his ability to live up to the standard that the team has set defensively. What Hawkins was referring to, though, was that Hartshorn won a Minor League Gold Glove Award at first base—not in the outfield. If he can live up to that gold standard in right, terrific, but perhaps the greater likelihood is that he'll do so at the cold corner.

The Future for Jaxon Wiggins is Unclear, But Cubs' Hopes Remain High

Jaxon Wiggins was one of the breakout stars of the 2025 season. However, late injuries during that year lingered into 2026, and he was unable to keep the good times rolling. At times, Wiggins showed diminished velocity and struggled with control. That's caused questions as to whether his big-league future lies in the rotation or the bullpen. 

"[Wiggins] showed some success in the bullpen towards the end of the year," Hawkins said. "We’ll address that when we get into spring training. We [don't] have to make that decision right now. I think we’ve seen a lot of these guys that have gone back and forth between starting and relieving, and had a lot of success."

If you were hoping for clarity, that response will be frustrating. The reality is that it's really hard to predict what will happen with a pitcher who has had the injury past that the right-handed power pitcher has had. The good news is that when he's healthy, the stuff has flashed good enough to be either in the rotation or in a high-leverage relief role. Unfortunately, since command is a question (on top of durability), there's as much uncertainty about whether he'll be any good as about where he'll be best.

"Certainly, given equal value, you’d rather have the starter because you’re throwing more innings and you’re just going to get more wins out of that guy. But not everybody can handle that workload," Hawkins said. "But just we’re focused on getting him healthy and getting him innings. When he does that, he’s got a great arm. He’s got a chance to get major-league outs." 

Cubs Interested in Teenage Japanese Pitcher Shoki Oda

While most Japanese-born players first play in Nippon Professional Baseball before coming stateside, we've seen a trend of youngsters making their way to America without doing so lately. Rintaro Sasaki skipped playing in NPB, choosing instead to play collegiate ball at Stanford before entering the 2026 draft. The Athletics signed Shota Morii straight from Japan; he made his minor-league debut in 2026. Now, 18-year-old phenom Shoki Oda will skip the NPB draft and look to sign as an international free agent with an an American team. 

Oda will be a gem in the class, and with the IFA spending rules, he'll be an option for many teams, as it will be very difficult to outspend each other. The Cubs have made major headway in the Japanese market in recent years, signing Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga. They recently promoted Kenta Nomoto to head of scouting. It would be surprising if the Cubs didn't make a run. 

While Oda is still growing into his body, he's been clocked as high as 97 miles per hour—a record for a Japanese high school pitcher. What the exact upside here is hard to tell, but you can certainly dream on that velocity. Any team would like to get a live arm like that into their system—the Cubs included.

Hawkins declined to name Oda specifically; speaking directly to situations like this one is fraught.

"Feel like we’ve made good inroads there, created some great relationships," he did say, "and I can tell you that any pitcher over there is somebody that we’ve figured out how we value them, and we’ll be engaging on a lot of Pacific Rim pitchers over the course of the next few weeks."

It's pretty clear that the team will attempt to be involved with his recruitment, and based on his talent, they surely hope to get the youngster into the system. So while it's expected for the Cubs to remain connected to NPB-posted players such as Kaima Taira and Teruaki Sato, keep an eye on Shoki Oda whenever the IFA period happens, too. Hawkins's remarks left no doubt that the team is still hoping to build a long-term pipeline. Hartshorn and Wiggins are right in the middle of that. Whether Oda eventually is or not, the team is trying to deepen that well of young talent, too.

What are your expectations for Josiah Hartshorn and Jaxon Wiggins? Do you think the Cubs will get contributions from each of these players in 2027? Let us know in the comments below.

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