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Cubs Pitching Prospect Knocking On Door of Major League Promotion

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 10, 2025 6:02 PM ET

The Chicago Cubs have one of the more highly ranked farm systems in baseball, but almost all of their top prospects are positional players.

With Cade Horton now a key piece of the Major League roster, the organization’s top four prospects are all positional players: outfielder Owen Caissie, catcher/first baseman Moises Ballesteros, middle infielder Jefferson Rojas and outfielder Kevin Alcantara.

The first pitcher who appears on the list is Jaxon Wiggins, who comes in at No. 5. Inside their top 20, there are only four pitchers, with hitters dominating the team’s rankings.

It is easy to see why the Cubs were dead set on acquiring some starting pitching help ahead of the MLB trade deadline this year because the organization has very little impact arms to rely on currently internally.

One of those pitchers who is inside the top 20 to keep an eye on is Will Sanders, who was ranked No. 25 by some outlets in the preseason, but has been performing incredibly well in 2025 and is now No. 17 at MLB Pipeline.

A fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of South Carolina, he has been highlighted by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report as the team’s biggest breakout prospect of the 2025 campaign.

Will Sanders is breaking out for Cubs in 2025

MANDATORY CREDIT: Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

“An inconsistent junior season at South Carolina dropped Sanders from potential first-round consideration all the way to the fourth round, and after a mediocre 2024 campaign, he has emerged as one of the better arms in the Cubs system,” he wrote.

In just his second season of professional baseball, he has already reached Triple-A, knocking on the door of a Big League promotion.

Sanders had a 2.64 ERA across 44.1 innings at Double-A Knoxville with an impressive 44-to-8 strikeout to walk ratio that led to the organization promoting him to Triple-A Iowa.

He has a 7-0 record, holding his own with a 4.61 ERA. The rise in that statistic can be drawn back to his walks increasing.

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Sanders is issuing 3.6 per nine innings with Iowa compared to only 1.6 per nine innings with Knoxville.

3.6 isn’t egregious by any means, but if he can get the control back in check and closer to what he was doing in Double-A, the rest of his numbers will follow suit.

Sanders isn’t striking out as many people in 2025 as he did in 2024, but that has had a direct impact on his improved control, dropping his BB/9 to 2.7 overall this year compared to 4.1 in his first campaign as a pro.

This article first appeared on Chicago Cubs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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