Things continue to go down hill for 2021 first round pick Jordan Wicks. The Chicago Cubs pitcher was at one point primed to become a permanent member of the starting rotation, but injuries have wrecked his progress and after being passed over in 2025, Wicks is now dealing with another major injury.
The left-handed pitcher was briefly shut down in February, but at the time Cubs manager Craig Counsell was cautiously optimistic that the arm issue would only sideline Wicks for a few days. However, the latest update on Wicks does not sound promising.
On Sunday, the Cubs announced that Wicks is dealing with radial nerve irritation in the left arm. Wicks, who made his MLB debut in 2023, but only appeared in eight games out of the bullpen last year, will begin the 2026 season on the 15-day injured list.
Seeing that Opening Day is still three weeks away and the Cubs are already making this decision makes you think that this is indeed a serious injury for Wicks. Not that he was in line to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster, but already shutting him down speaks volumes.
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This just keeps making that 2021 first round choice by the Cubs look worse as each day passes.
Cubs 2021 Draft Blunder
In the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft the Chicago Cubs selected left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Wicks out of Kansas State with the 21st overall pick. With the very next pick the White Sox drafted high school shortstop Colson Montgomery and as we get ready for the 2026 season the Cubs probably want a re-do on that one.
Besides the obvious comparison of the two players, which is hard to ignore as they’re both in Chicago, Wicks’ career has been quite disappointing with the Cubs. It’s a shame because the left-hander made a great first impression when he was called up at the end of the 2023 season, but the first-round pedigree is doing a lot of work to raise Wicks’ value in 2026.
In 2024, Wicks was locked in to the Cubs’ starting rotation, but injuries destroyed his season and now after a year of being overlooked by the organization Wicks has suffered a setback in spring training. Wicks has now been shut down with a new arm issue in spring training.
In 2025, Wicks was never given an opportunity to step into the rotation during the regular season even when the team was desperate for help in the summer. It was odd to say the least as the Cubs seemingly passed over Wicks, a guy who did have flashes of success in the major as a rookie. Instead, Wicks was limited to eight relief appearances and 14.1 total innings with the Cubs.
On the positive side, the 25-year-old had a good year at Triple-A, where Wicks posted a 3.55 ERA in 71 innings of work. The lefty had a 26.1 K% and only allowed four home runs.
The latest setback is a bit more than your surface-level concern. Another forearm issue for Wicks, who missed about seven weeks in 2024 with a forearm strain. He also had a couple oblique strains that cut his 2024 season short.
Even before this setback, Wicks was way down on the depth chart for the Cubs. Now, he’ll have to work even harder to get back healthy and hopefully regain the trust of the organization.
Meanwhile, Montgomery made his MLB debut with the White Sox last season and from the date of his first big-league game through the end of the regular season the left-handed hitter crushed 21 home runs. That ranked ninth most among all MLB players. Montgomery’s 129 wRC+ was good enough for sixth best among all rookies and his 2.7 fWAR was tied for fifth best in his rookie class.
It happens every year. There are some big misses and this one certainly keeps looking worse for the Cubs.
