Cade Horton Joins Cubs Rotation Amid Injury Crunch
A Blog By Robbie
The Chicago Cubs are getting ready to unveil their high-end pitching prospect, Cade Horton, during this weekend's set against the New York Mets. Horton, ranked as the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect and No. 46 overall by MLB Pipeline, has shown off his electrifying arsenal with his recent performances down in Triple-A Iowa. The red-hot Cubbies have been met with a bit of a pitching crisis, as Justin Steele is out long-term and their ace, Shota Imanaga, has just been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, and may not return until June at the earliest. Albeit, Chicago is still sitting pretty at the top of the National League Central, and their pitching staff has held their own. Matthew Boyd is a solid starter, but the expectation that he will form into ace material is not expected by anyone. Colin Rea has also performed well, highlighted by a 2.43 earned run average, but he is bound to regress. With their two top starters being down, now seemed like an inevitable time to call Cade Horton to the show, a pitcher with potential to be an ace down the road.
From OU to Wrigley: Cade Horton’s Elite Arsenal is Set for MLB Stage
The 6’11”, 211-pound slinger’s road to the show began at the University of Oklahoma, where he started out as a third baseman before transitioning to the bump. Despite his Tommy John surgery in 2021, he came back firing on all cylinders, leading the Sooners to the College World Series finals in the following year, recording a career-high 13 strikeouts in the championship game. The Cubs called his name seventh overall in the 2022 MLB Draft (signed under-slot for $4.45 million), and he has since skyrocketed through their farm system, reaching Triple-A by 2024. Scout the Statline (StS) projects the right hander to toss 129 innings in his debut campaign, with a solid K% of 23.6 (127 strikeouts), above league average, and a BB% of 9.4. The StS Peak Projections also highlight a WHIP of 1.17.
In six starts for the Iowa Cubs thus far, Cade has spun a 1.24 earned run average in 29 innings pitched with a 0.86 WHIP while showcasing an elite, cutting fastball that touches 99 mph and a slider with phenomenal movement. His repertoire is highlighted by the fastball and the devastating mid-80s slider with two-plane depth, which has boasted a 49% chase rate and a 50% swing-and-miss rate, a pitch that is considered to be his best offering. The four-pitch mix is paired with a low-80’s curveball and a nasty upper-80’s changeup with control… which helped him hold opponents to a .129 batting average. During the 2025 Iowa campaign, Horton’s walk rate stood at 12%, issuing only 13 walks. Notably, his control has shown tremendous improvement as he walked 10 batters in his first three starts but turned it around with only three more in his subsequent outings. Cade stands out as a pitcher who can make changes on the fly, as the Cubs introduced him to two new pitch grips in 2023, the spike curveball and the Vulcan changeup. Remarkably, he began incorporating these pitches in live games within just three days of learning them, according to Jordan Bastian.
Where He’ll Fit In
This call-up gives Cubs fans a glimpse into their long-term vision, as Horton fits the mold of a front-end arm. His fastball-slider combo is MLB-ready ready and his ability to sequence is ahead of most rookies. Despite being just 23 years old, he commands the zone like a grizzled veteran while proving he can adapt and bounce back from setbacks. Horton’s potential goes far deeper than just “filling in the gaps”, as he has shown plenty of flashes of ace upside. He has potential cornerstone potential in the midst of Chicago’s push for contention.