Jordan Wicks returns to the mound and could be a critical piece of the Cubs' puzzle

Jordan Wicks kind of gets lost in the noise, especially when you consider he's a former first-round pick. The Chicago Cubs took the southpaw out of Kansas State in the MLB Draft five years ago and haven't exactly gotten a strong return on their investment.

He's pitched just 95 innings at the big-league level and hasn't been what I'd call effective: a 5.21 ERA, 1.744 WHIP and -0.6 bWAR. Even so, he spent the offseason tweaking some things and the hope is he can pitch meaningful innings for the Cubs this year. On Saturday, he took the first step toward achieving that goal, making his first start of the year.

Jordan Wicks could help 2026 Cubs and set himself up heading into 2027

Wicks fired three scoreless frames for the Iowa Cubs, filling up the strike zone before calling it a day. It was a strong first step back after working his way back from nerve irritation that delayed his start to the season. Given the injuries that have ravaged the pitching staff, this team isn't in a position to be overly picky.

Matthew Boyd is on track to return (with improved fastball velocity) early this week, which will be an immediate boost, and we're probably a month or so away from Justin Steele returning after more than a year since his last start. But if there's any lesson we can learn from how the first few weeks of the season have went, it's that injuries are going to happen - and will continue to be a factor over the course of the year.

If Wicks can finally turn the corner and deliver consistency for Chicago, he could be another important piece to the pitching puzzle - and with Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga and Boyd ticketed for free agency at year's end, could pitch his way into the team's rotation plans heading into 2027.

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