SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It is officially Opening Day for the South Bend Cubs as they begin the 2025 campaign on the road against the Beloit Sky Carp on Friday. 

Team officials say, of the 29 players on the opening day roster, 19 of them have played a game at Four Winds Field prior to this season.

The returners include top-10 Chicago Cubs prospects Jaxon Wiggins and Cristian Hernandez. There are also multiple 2024 Chicago Cubs draft picks, including Ariel Armas (5th-round), Ivan Brethowr (7th-round), Edgar Alvarez (8th-round), and Drew Bowser (20th-round).

From the South Bend Cubs:

A late season addition to the South Bend Cubs roster in 2024, Wiggins rifled onto the scene with his dynamic stuff and electric arm on the mound. With a four-pitch mix of a fastball, slider, 12-6 curveball, and changeup, Wiggins displayed the nastiness immediately, and closed his season by setting back-to-back career highs in strikeouts in his final two starts of the year. Wiggins punched out eight Great Lakes Loons, as part of five innings of one-run baseball on August 31. In the sequel at Fort Wayne on September 7, the strong righty posted nine 9 K’s over five innings with only an unearned run allowed. It’s tough to say exactly how long Wiggins will remain in South Bend this season, but for the time being, he will lead the Cubs rotation at the top as he continues to climb up the system.

As for the infield, the Cubs were gifted with luxury with the likes of Hernandez, Jefferson Rojas, and Pedro Ramirez all being in the same infield in 2024. To start 2025, it’s Hernandez as the lone wolf from that group. But that’s not a bad thing. Hernandez is going to get opportunity, and still just 21-years-old, he’ll get the chance to play shortstop, or second base, every day. When he first signed, the viral comparison to Hernandez was that of a young Alex Rodriguez. That certainly can still be the case. For a young hitter, Hernandez uses the opposite to field to his advantage better than most his age. But he also has the ability to pull and drive the ball. Last season, Hernandez clubbed five home runs in 118 games. The next step for the young start to take is driving the ball out of the ballpark consistently. If you can see him propel his batting average in the .270’s or 80’s on the regular, and pair that with a doubled amount of home runs from last year, that’d be a very successful season for Hernandez, who hit .261 last season.

When you’re talking power, you’re talking Andy Garriola. The big, powerful outfielder will start a season in South Bend for the first time, after being called-up midseason in 2024. An arm injury caused by a hit-by-pitch ended the season for Garriola last year, but now 100 percent and good to go, we’ll see if the Old Dominion product can pick up right where he left off. At the time of the injury, Garriola was just really started to come into form. Not that he didn’t start his South BEnd tenure in a great way, either. He was on-base in his first nine games as a South Bend Cub. However, he was starting to consistently hit the ball out of the ballpark, but he wasn't just relying on his pull-ability. Like Hernandez, he was slapping the ball the other way. 2025 is a massive year for Garriola. He’s going to get to play every day, whether that’s in the outfield or as a DH.

Head’s up Tiki Hut. Plenty of his swings will be directed straight towards there.

Other notable names on the South Bend Cubs 2025 opening day roster include left-hander Burl Carraway. The 2020 2nd-round pick is known for his fastball but has battled injuries in recent seasons and last pitched in 2022.

Also, staples of the 2024 everyday South Bend lineup, Brian Kalmer and Rafael Morel, are back in the fold. Kalmer, who crushed a walk-off home run on June 7 last year against West Michigan, played 83 games with the Cubs; While Morel suited up in 84 games, and played every single infield and outfield position through the year, except for first base.

Schedule and probable Cubs starting pitchers:

• Friday, April 4 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Jaxon Wiggins
• Saturday, April 5 - 2:05 PM ET: RHP Kenten Egbert
• Sunday, April 6 - 2:05 PM ET: RHP Luis Rujano