Is Jaxon Wiggins Still Deserving of September Call-Up to Chicago Cubs?

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It’s fair to say that Jaxon Wiggins’s 2026 campaign hasn’t been what the Chicago Cubs or Wiggins himself expected. Having entered the year as the organization's top pitching prospect, he’s since been surpassed by the team’s most recent first-round pick, right-hander Cade Townsend. While while Wiggins still ranks as a top-three prospect in the organization according to North Side Baseball, I think you could argue that he should’ve fallen even further.

Across 26 innings at Triple-A Iowa, he's sporting a gross 8.31 ERA and 1.96 WHIP. He’s walking more than a batter per inning, and while his 5.55 FIP is significantly lower than his ERA, that’s still nowhere near where you want it to be. There’s no way around it: This has been a disappointing year for Wiggins. For a guy who a lot of people, myself included, assumed would have an impact on the Cubs’ rotation this season, that has never come close to fruition.

Yet, despite a campaign that has been dominated by injury and frustration, Wiggins might still have a chance to change the perception surrounding his 2026 campaign. Come September 1, teams will be able to increase their active roster size from 26 players to 28. I think there are a couple of reasons the Cubs might want to use one of those spots on Wiggins, with the first just being that this would be a good chance to let him get his feet wet.

The upside here hasn’t changed. The goal is still for Wiggins to become a quality pitcher for the Cubs over the next several years, and a September call-up wouldn’t need to change that. In fact, giving Wiggins more of a long-relief or spot-start role could be a good opportunity to get him some major-league reps without putting a ton of pressure on him. His fastball and slider, particularly in two-to-four inning bursts, could be legitimate weapons, and getting him some lower-leverage opportunities feels like a pretty reasonable way to start his major-league career.

The Cubs also have the luxury of being firmly in control of their own destiny. They’re hovering around 20 games above .500 and have put themselves in a strong position in the playoff picture, so what’s the worst that could happen by giving Wiggins a shot? It’s not like he’s being thrust into a situation where Chicago needs him to be a star. This would be a “let’s see what we’ve got” situation, and Wiggins might unlock something over the final month of the season. Look at Trey Yesavage last year. He was another high-profile prospect who got a shot late in the regular season and wound up dominating in October. Now, granted, Yesavage had more success in the minors than Wiggins has this season. But I’d still want to see what I have in this high-upside, hard-throwing right-hander, even if the conclusion ends up being that he’s simply not there yet.

At the very least, the Cubs would have a better idea of where Wiggins stands heading into the offseason. And considering how highly the organization thought of him coming into the year, getting some additional information about what he can do against major-league hitters would be valuable.

There’s also another factor to consider here: Wiggins’ roster status. In order for him to get called up, the Cubs would have to add him to their 40-man roster. Because he’s not currently on it, that means they’d have to remove someone else to clear a spot, barring another player landing on the 60-day injured list.

That’s obviously not an insignificant decision, but Wiggins is Rule 5 eligible this winter. So, if the Cubs don’t want to risk losing him, they’re going to have to add him to the 40-man roster in the near future anyway. In that case, why not do it now? If Chicago believes Wiggins is still part of their long-term plans—and given his talent, it would be surprising if they didn’t—there’s an argument for accelerating that timeline. Add him to the 40-man, call him up and let him throw.

There’s no guarantee that it works. Maybe the walks continue to pile up, maybe his stuff doesn’t play well against MLB competition, or maybe he struggles and goes into the offseason with even more questions surrounding him. But those questions are already there. The difference is that a September opportunity could give the Cubs actual information to work with, while also giving Wiggins a chance to build some confidence after a frustrating season.

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