3 Cubs starting pitchers who will begin the 2024 season in Triple-A and 2 who won't

Cubs LHP Jordan Wicks will open the 2024 season in the big leagues

Jordan Wicks was never a headline grabber even as a prospect, but even coming out of the draft as a Kansas State standout, his polish and makeup was highly regarded and most believed he'd have a short wait before impacting a big league roster.

That proved to be the case as just over two years after the Cubs took him with the 21st overall pick in 2021, he made his debut against the Pirates at PNC Park, striking out 9 and allowing just 1 earned run in five innings of work. A clunker in his final start of the year ballooned his numbers but, all told, the young left-hander held his own down the stretch, pitching valuable innings for Chicago in August and September.

He looks to have the inside track on the fifth and final spot in the rotation, which would push both Javier Assad and Drew Smyly into the bullpen as swingmen giving Counsell two long-relief arms or, if he so chooses, a way to give some guys extra rest as the schedule allows by slotting in spot starters.

2024 will be a test for Wicks as the league has a scouting report on him now and it marks his first full MLB season. There will be ups and downs, but he's handled everything thrown his way to this point well. The hope is he can do the same at the back end of the Cubs rotation.

Cubs RHP Ben Brown will open the 2024 season at Triple-A Iowa

Before suffering an injury in late July, a Ben Brown big league debut looked to be a very real possibility for a Cubs team that was weathering the loss of Marcus Stroman. But that injury cost Brown a whole month and he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen upon his return.

He opened the year by dazzling at Double-A Tennessee, making 4 starts and working to a 0.45 ERA, 0.950 WHIP and 13.5 K/9 before getting bumped to Iowa. There, though, he struggled a good amount, making 15 starts and 7 relief appearances and posting a 5.33 ERA and 1.528 WHIP. Letting him build more of a track record of success at Iowa before leaning on him at the big league level makes too much sense to think he's cracking the Opening Day roster.

Brown checks in as the Cubs' second-ranked pitching prospect behind only Cade Horton and it seems likely he'll make his MLB debut before the end of the 2024 season. But the addition of Imanaga will allow Chicago to let their young right-hander get his feet back under him at Triple-A and re-establish himself before getting the call.

Cubs RHP Cade Horton will open the 2024 season at Double-A Tennessee

The Cubs' blue chip pitching prospect, Cade Horton, has not only silenced his doubters and critics but quickly emerged as one of the best up-and-coming arms in all of baseball. After being taken in the first round out of Oklahoma as a CWS breakout star, the questions certainly weren't lacking when it came to Hoyer's decision here.

But last season, Horton stood out at every level he pitched at. Combined between A, High-A and Double-A, the right-hander made 21 starts, working to a 2.65 ERA, 0.996 WHIP and 11.9 K/9 - including an impressive 2.67 ERA and 0.950 WHIP in a half-dozen starts at Tennessee. As incredible a year as it was, we need to step back and appreciate he has just that: six career starts above High-A.

I think the jump from Double-A to Triple-A will come very quickly, similar to what we saw with Brown in 2023. But to open the year, letting Horton get right back to mowing down hitters in a familiar setting could set him up for another huge year on the mound - and hopefully position him to impact the big league staff when it matters most late in the season.

Cubs RHP Hayden Wesneski will open the 2024 season at Triple-A Iowa

Acquired from the New York Yankees in the Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline in 2021, Hayden Wesneski jumped onto Cubs fans' radars in 2022 when he made his debut in September, tossing 33 innings of 2.18 ERA ball for Chicago.

That led most of us to assume he'd be a rotation fixture in 2023 - but that proved to not be the case, as the right-hander instead slotted into a jack-of-all-trades role, making 11 starts, finishing 6 and appearing in another 17 out of the pen. The results admittedly weren't all that impressive: a 5.48 FIP and 2.0 HR/9 in 89 1/3 innings of work.

The metrics didn't paint any more forgiving a picture, either. Just look at his Baseball Savant page. In terms of barrel rate, he ranked in the bottom one percent of the league - and his hard hit rate jumped dramatically over the year prior.

He's struggled a ton against lefties, making a future as a reliever more likely at this point. But seeing if he can figure things out and even out his splits at Iowa makes the most sense. There might still be a road to him becoming a quality arm for the Cubs, but he needs to level things off a bit before he's asked to pitch meaningful innings at Wrigley again.