The New York Mets have their man from the 2026 draft locked up, and he comes with a 102 mph fastball and a résumé full of question marks about durability.
New York signed right-hander Carson Wiggins to a full-slot deal worth $3,466,500, according to MLB.com‘s Jim Callis. Wiggins was the 27th overall pick out of the University of Arkansas in last weekend’s draft.
“Wiggins is an electric arm, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the organization,” Mets vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross said in a statement to MLB.com. “He is an elite athlete that offers premium velocity, two swing-and-miss breaking pitches, and an emerging changeup.”
Gross went further, saying, “We think he is going to be a really damn good pitcher. Frontline upside. That was a real attraction with Carson.”
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Carson Wiggins’ Path to the Mets
Wiggins, 21, grew up in Roland, Oklahoma, and transformed himself from a 5-foot-10, 145-pound high school freshman into a 6-foot-5, 215-pound first-round arm by the time he graduated. He struck out 261 batters across 117 innings during his four years at Roland High School, capping it with a 0.97 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 36 innings as a senior, numbers that made him a top-40 national recruit heading into 2024, according to the Arkansas athletic department. He turned down that year’s draft to honor his commitment to the Razorbacks.
The payoff came fast in Fayetteville. Wiggins posted a 3.21 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 14 relief innings as a true freshman in 2025, limiting opposing hitters to a .152 batting average and picking up three saves. Then came the injury.
Wiggins’ Injury History: What It Means for the Mets
Wiggins tore his UCL during that freshman season and underwent Tommy John surgery with an internal brace, wiping out his entire sophomore year. He never threw a competitive pitch in 2026, though bullpen sessions this spring showed scouts enough to trust him with a first-round grade.
That gamble is exactly what the Mets are banking on. New York’s farm system has leaned toward position-player depth in recent cycles, and Wiggins gives the organization a power arm with a fastball that touched 102 mph this spring, the fastest of any pitcher in the entire draft class, to go with a wipeout upper-80s slider and a developing mid-80s changeup. MLB Pipeline ranked him the No. 88 overall prospect in the class despite the thin innings total, a testament to how much scouts trust the stuff despite the injury doubts.
The bet mirrors one plenty of front offices have made in recent drafts. Premium arms with Tommy John history have become easier sells around baseball, the surgery now viewed as a routine hurdle rather than a dealbreaker. For a Mets system thin on frontline pitching prospects, landing a talent this loud at 27th overall counts as a coup regardless of the innings gap on his résumé.
He is also following family footsteps. Wiggins is the younger brother of Chicago Cubs Top 100 prospect Jaxon Wiggins, drafted by Chicago in the second round out of the same Arkansas program back in 2023.
Carson Wiggins now heads to Port St. Lucie to begin his professional development, a high-risk, high-reward project the Mets are betting will turn into a rotation piece if the surgically repaired arm holds up under a full professional workload.
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