According to multiple reports, the Cubs are calling up their top pitching prospect, Cade Horton, for a start this weekend against the Mets. Here’s what you need to know about this exciting young pitcher.
- Horton was the Cubs’ first-round pick and the seventh overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma. He was quite an athlete in high school and was recruited by the Sooners both as a two-way player in baseball and a quarterback for the football team, although he never actually suited up for the football team. He missed all of the 2021 season with Tommy John surgery and when he returned in 2022, he mostly played third base until late in the college baseball season. He struggled when he first returned to the mound, as is common with pitchers coming off of TJ surgery. But by the time of the College World Series, he had become the Sooners’ ace with dominating starts against Notre Dame (6 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, one walk, 11 strikeouts) and Ole Miss (7.1 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, no walks and 13 strikeouts). That sent Horton shooting up draft boards late—too late to make a lot of publications listings of top draft prospects, but many anonymous front office executives confirmed after the draft that they had him as a top ten selection.
- Horton dominated at three levels in his professional debut in 2023 and looked in line for a major league debut last season after his promotion to Triple-A Iowa. (In four starts in Double-A Tennessee before the promotion, Horton had an ERA of 1.10 with 18 strikeouts and two walks over 16⅓ innings) But something was wrong in Iowa. His velocity on his fastball was down about two miles per hour and he had a lot more trouble finding the strike zone. Eventually in May he was diagnosed with a right lat strain that knocked him out for the rest of the season.
- This year, Horton has returned to Iowa healthy and has looked as good or better than he did in 2023. He struggled with control a bit in his first three starts, but the velocity was back and he was able to locate the slider better. In his last three starts, Horton walked only one batter in each game and allowed just two runs over 16⅔ innings.
- Horton’s fastball is back in the 94-97 mile per hour range and it had regained the natural ride. When he can locate it for strikes, and he’s been able to do that lately, it’s a plus pitch.
- But Horton’s best pitch is his nasty slider, and it’s the one he’s mostly likely to go to when a batter had two strikes. It comes in at 85 to 87 mph and it has some sharp vertical break. He often throws it out of the zone to get batters to chase, but he can throw it for a strike when he needs to (assuming it’s “on” that day). It’s a plus-plus pitch when it’s right.
- Horton added a sinker this year that he hasn’t thrown much, but it’s a promising pitch that mimics his fastball. It’s also a 94 to 96 mph pitch. It’s a promising pitch against right-handers. I wouldn’t expect Horton to throw it much in his first start because it’s still a pitch he’s working on, but it’s promising. Also, I think it speaks well of Horton that he wasn’t content to just rely on his fastball and slider.
- Horton also has a changeup and a curveball that he breaks out from time to time. He rarely throws more than two or three of those pitches a start. The change gives him another look against left-handed hitters that he’ll need in the majors. Both pitches are a bit fringy, but both pitches are getting better this year. Both have the element of surprise and play better than they otherwise would because of their contrast to the fastball and slider.
- Obviously with the TJ surgery in his background and the lat strain last year, injuries are a concern for Horton. Of course, you can say that about every single pitcher in the major leagues. From all indications, Horton is 100 percent healthy right now and should have no limitations, other than the normal ones like a lower pitch count that you’d put on rookie pitcher. Horton has never thrown more than 79 pitches in a game, so I’d suspect that they’ll put an 75- or 80-pitch limit on him.
For fun, here’s the hype video that MLB dot com put together on Horton [VIDEO]. Some of the video here is from 2023 and 2024, but it all gives you an idea of what kind of a pitcher Cade Horton is.
- Finally, I’m very excited about Horton’s prospects and I honestly believe he has nothing left to learn in the minor leagues. Leaving him in Iowa was just wasting innings. I think he’s going to be a very good professional pitcher. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if he struggled in his first start against the Mets. He might not, but quality major league hitters can hit a quality major league slider. But that will be a better learning experience than anything he could do in Iowa. Horton is not the type to let a bad outing affect his confidence.
All in all, I think Cubs fans should be very excited about Cade Horton. Had I been more confident about his health, I may have ranked Horton as the number one prospect in the Cubs system before the season, ahead of Matt Shaw. He’s one of the top five pitching prospects in the minors right now and he’s ready for The Show.
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