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Much has been made over the years about the Cubs' inconsistent or insufficient pitching development, but I think there are a lot of good seeds in their farm right now, and that the Cubs are moving forward. That doesn't mean everything is perfect, but I think they're trending in the right direction. A handful of notable Cub pitching prospects have made some gains this year by either flashing improved stuff, improved control, or simply, improved health.
Hunter Bigge, RP Chicago Cubs (MLB)
There probably isn't a prospect who's made his name known on Twitter in the 2024 season more than Bigge. He's a 26-year-old reliever, who signed with the Cubs in 2019 out of Harvard, of all places. While he's shown the ability to post big strikeout numbers in the past, the walk rates have always been rough, and Bigge wasn't really on call-up watch in April. On the season, though, the Ivy Leaguer has posted wonderful strikeout and walk numbers. Most notably, his non-competitive pitch rates have plummeted.
Bigge's bread and butter is a heater that touches 100 mph and has a whiff rate you can dream on. For the season, hitters have swung and missed on one out of every three tries against the heater, within the zone. That's elite stuff. Bigge has recently been called up to the parent club, and should make his debut shortly. There's a high-leverage reliever here, as long as he can control the walk rates.
Porter Hodge, RP Chicago Cubs (MLB)
I am keeping Hodge on this list as of now, because he entered the season as a prospect and (unlike Ben Brown) hasn't spent the entire season in the big leagues. I wrote about Hodge in the winter as someone I really liked to break out, and lo and behold, I got one right! I don't always get 'em right, so I've got to celebrate a bit here.
Thus far on the season, the big righthander has looked phenomenal with the Cubs. He's sporting an ERA below 1.50; he's inducing ground balls at over a 43% clip; he's yet to give up a barrel; he's kept the walk rate to 11.5%; and he's striking out almost a third of the hitters he sees. That's back-end stuff. We're still in the early days of Hodge as an MLB player, as he's still under 15 innings of a sample size. But it's hard to say that many people saw this kind of breakout from the cutter specialist, and it's hard not to get a little excited.
Brandon Birdsell, SP Iowa Cubs (Triple-A)
Birdsell was a good find for the Cubs in the 2022 draft. A fifth-round pick out of Texas Tech who had dealt with some injuries, Birdsell was probably too good to go so low on talent alone. The righty isn't overpowering (with a strikeout rate just over 20%, the punchout isn't in his repertoire right now), but he also walks next-to no one, with a walk rate under 5%. I'd feel a bit better if Birdsell was a ground-ball machine (he's not), but with funky arm action and a lot of strikes being thrown, it's probable that he makes an MLB start in his career, and possibly, many. I keep thinking about how the Cubs have gotten the most out of Javier Assad, and while they're different pitchers who go about things in their own ways, I have some confidence that there's a back-of-the-rotation arm in Birdsell.
With the youngster having recently promoted to Iowa, it'll be interesting to see the Savant data on him, and whether the Cubs try to do some of the seam-shifted wake stuff that they've done with Jameson Taillon and the aforementioned Assad.
Will Sanders, SP, South Bend (High-A)
In many ways, Will Sanders feels like a similar pick to Birdsell: a fourth-round pick who, on talent alone, probably was too good to be picked that late. Sanders didn't have a great end to his career in South Carolina in college, and the Cubs picked up on him. In his draft year, the 4.91 ERA doesn't look great, but a lot of that was issues he had at the start of his time in South Bend. The former Gamecock got rocked in his first two goes, but since then, he has been much better, posting a mid-3s ERA, a strikeout rate over 26% and a walk rate under 10%.
Unlike Birdsell, Sanders is very much a groundball pitcher, so that helps to eliminate runners through ground balls and keeps the ball in the park. Much like Birdsell, though, there's a good chance Sanders makes some starts in his career, though whether it's as organizational depth, or as a fixture in the fourth or fifth spot in a rotation is hard to tell. Either way, he's looked pretty good, and I think there's an MLB future here.
Sam Armstrong, SP, South Bend (High-A)
The Cubs had a pretty solid 2023 draft (just wait, it's not done!) when you're adding the 13th round selection out of Old Dominion on your risers spot! So far, in 62 innings, Armstrong has posted wonderful numbers in South Bend, striking out 24.7% of hitters, walking 7% of them, keeping ground balls over 40% and maintaining solid home-run rates on flies. Armstrong has formed a nice duo with Sanders so far.
While you can point to Armstrong being older than Sanders as a negative, he's also not coming from the SEC, so this is a larger leap for him, as well. He's a bit maxed out on his body, standing at 6'2" and weighing 245 pounds, but he maintains a low- to mid-90s fastball, which is likely enough. Much like the aforementioned former South Carolinian, the upside here is likely more "back end" than "front end", but getting anything out of a 13th rounder is a win.
Jaxon Wiggins, SP, Myrtle Beach (Low-A)
Wiggins was a divisive pick in 2023, with many fans and pundits on the internet upset at the Cubs for getting a bit "weird" with the pick. Wiggins, whose overall college numbers at Arkansas looked rough, was fresh off Tommy John and hadn't really been seen, outside of some fall action. He was recommended by Ty Nichols, however. We should have known not to doubt the man who also brought in Cade Horton, under similar circumstances. It's only Low-A, but working his way back from surgery, Wiggins has looked awesome, flashing high-90s stuff and eliminating a lot of the walk concerns (so far). I'm not willing to say "all fixed!" there yet--Wiggins is likely too good for Myrtle Beach talent alone--so it'll be worth monitoring how well he progresses when he gets a bump to South Bend, but it's hard to say his arrow is pointing anywhere other than "up" right now.
The Cubs aren't yet a pitching factory on par with the teams who do that best, but they're making progress. As discouraging as the big-league results have been this year, there are good things percolating.
Interested in learning more about the Chicago Cubs' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!
View Cubs Top Prospects
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