Knoxville Smokies 2025 season recap
By John Flannagan
Even though the Knoxville Smokies fell short of their goal of a fourth consecutive playoff appearance, the inaugural season back in downtown Knoxville was a resounding success. The new digs adjacent to the Old City at Covenant Health Park drew large crowds all season thanks to exciting promotions and even more exciting baseball. The stadium was named the 2025 Ballpark of the Year by baseballparks.com, a prestigious award in the sport. The Smokies will look to build off this year’s successes next season with a fresh crop of talent and a hopeful return to the Southern League playoffs.
The Birmingham Barons won their second consecutive Southern League title this season, besting the Montgomery Biscuits in the final series. The Chicago White Sox affiliate went 81-57 in the regular season, finishing 11 games above the third-place Smokies in the North Division. A crop of highly touted prospects that included Noah Shultz, Braden Montgomery, Hagen Smith, Jacob Gonzalez and William Bergola kept the Barons atop the standings, with Shultz and Montgomery even seeing time with their parent club this season.
The Smokies, who were in a rebuild of sorts this season after seeing many of their top prospects advance to AAA Iowa and the Chicago Cubs, respectively, managed to play above-.500 baseball for the season, with many of their young prospects from lower levels advancing to AA this season. Starting pitcher Jaxson Wiggins (79th overall MLB prospect) shined for Knoxville after his midseason promotion from A ball. Although the club was cautious with him, holding him out of the All-Star Futures Game due to Tommy John surgery the previous season, Wiggins made 10 starts for the Smokies and boasting an impressive 1.93 ERA. This led to another promotion to AAA Iowa late in the season. Look for Wiggins to fight for a rotation spot with the Cubs in 2026 spring training.
Another highly touted Cubs prospect, Jefferson Rojas (59th overall prospect) made his Smokies debut halfway through the year and showed flashes at times but struggled to adjust to the level of pitching in AA. Another season with Knoxville should help the 20-year-old shortstop realize his potential and develop into the top-flight player the Cubs believe he will be.
Pacing the Smokies this season was SS/2B Pedro Ramirez (Cubs No. 8 prospect) who turned in a steady season, hitting .280 with 28 stolen bases. Ramirez also chipped in 73 RBI (good for second in the league) and was the heart of the Smokies lineup all season long along with BJ Murray Jr.
BJ Murray Jr., while not a top prospect for the Cubs perse, was the main run producer for Knoxville this season. Murray Jr. was second in the league with 20 home runs and first in RBI with 89. At 25 years old, he is still young enough to make a splash at the major league level, and the organization will hope that the fan favorite – who was always willing to sign autographs and speak to folks before and after games – can advance his career on the diamond.
Next season, the Smokies should see a wave of new talent come through Covenant Health Park, as the Cubs farm system is one of the best in baseball. Fans should expect to see a lot of SS/2B Christian Hernandez, who had a solid season swiping 52 bags in A ball. Another speedster at that level who will look to move up to AA is Ty Southisene, who stole 41 bases this season. As for arms, I look forward to pitchers Kaleb Wing and Dominick Reid seeing time in Knoxville in 2026.
With the new stadium and major support from the Chicago Cubs, the Knoxville Smokies have all the resources to develop homegrown talent. As you watch the MLB postseason, notice how many former Smokies the Cubs boast in their starting lineup and roster at any given point. The proof is in the pudding.
