The Chicago Cubs have done well with pitching in the first round of the MLB draft of late. But the backbones of staffs are built on player development.
With Jordan Wicks and Cade Horton Major Leaguers now, the search is on for the next Cubs starter in the minor league system. Recently, Baseball America shuffled its Top 30 prospects for each team. Along with Horton — who still qualifies — eight other pitchers were listed.
So which one is rising the fastest? Well, in a way you could say he took Horton’s place at Triple-A Iowa.
Will Sanders was the Cubs’ No. 14 prospect in the publication’s June update. He started this season at Double-A Tennessee and pitched well enough there to earn a promotion to Iowa on May 29. Horton was promoted on May 10, so they didn’t overlap. But the pair were teammates in Tennessee last year, though Horton spent most of that season injured.
Chicago selected Sanders in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB draft out of South Carolina and promptly rested his arm for the 2024 season. In his first pro season, the results didn’t look great. He went 2-8 with a 4.66 ERA in 24 games (23 starts), with 109 strikeouts and 44 walks in 96.2 innings. Batters hit .251 against him and he had a 1.45 WHIP.
He started 2025 back at Tennessee and made some obvious adjustments. In nine starts with Tennessee he went 3-2 with a. 2.64 ERA, with 44 strikeouts and eight walks in 44.1 innings. The opponent batting average dropped to .233 and the WHIP dropped to 1.04.
He’s only made two starts with Iowa, but he’s won both games. He is ERA has ballooned to 5.73 in 11 innings.
Combined, he is 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 11 starts, with 53 strikeouts and 12 walks in 55.1 innings, with a .246 opponent batting average and a 1.14 WHIP.
“Sanders pounds the strike zone while generating strikeouts at an above-average rate,” reported the scouts at Baseball America.
How that translates to how quickly he makes his move to the Majors is unclear. It has been a tough two starts for him at Iowa. But it was clear he was dominating hitters at Tennessee and had made the necessary adjustments to earn the promotion. Now, it’s all about adjusting once again.
Sanders probably won’t help the Cubs this season, even under the worst of circumstances. But a 2026 call-up isn’t out of the question — especially if he keeps the strikeout rate up.
