Cubs Rotation Grades: Horton headlines strong season for righties

Horton is a gamer for the Charles LeClaire - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 3 hours ago

Yesterday, we started our season report cards on the starting pitching by opening up with the Cubs' southpaws. Today, we switch over to the righties, and from all accounts, it was the righties that carried this rotation this season, apart from Matthew Boyd.

That was a pleasant surprise in itself, as a lot of the righties that the Cubs used in their rotation have been inconsistent at best and have struggled to put together long stretches of success during their time in Chicago. When you look at who is currently in this group of the rotation, most, if not all, of these guys are expected back next season, and that alone will be a massive lift for this team.

Jameson Taillon

When you talk about a pitcher who has had his share of inconsistencies since joining the Cubs, Taillon is the name that comes up the most. This was the third year of his four-year deal, and so far, we have seen the bad Taillon, the good Taillon, and a little bit of the in between. What stands out the most about this season is the amount of adversity he had to face and how he was able to plow through it, despite getting off to a rough start, dealing with an injury, and then coming back only to get hurt again.

However, it was what he did when he returned from his injury that stood out, as he became the Cubs' stopper down the stretch and, from all accounts, was their best starter come the postseason, which alone gives him a better grade this season. For the year, Taillon managed to log 23 starts despite the injuries and posted an 11-7 record with a 3.68 ERA. That may not be as good as his ERA from a season ago, but it does fall right in line with his career mark, as he is by far one of the better back-of-the-rotation arms in the National League.

Grade B+: It's hard to give Taillon a strong grade this season as he stepped up during the second half. Had it not been for his postseason performance, there is no way the Cubs would have gotten by the Padres, let alone taken the Brewers to five games. That alone made his season worth the struggles early in the year, as he has earned the contract the Cubs have given him.

Colin Rea

It's hard not to find a more critical piece to the Cubs' pitching staff this season than Colin Rea. Signed to a one-year, five-million-dollar deal to be the swing man on this team, Rea was not only thrown into the rotation once Justin Steele went down, but may have been the MVP of the entire staff.

Rea went on to have one of those breakout performances you talk about, as the Cubs wouldn't have been in the position they were without him. His 27 starts tied his career high from a season ago and ranked second behind Matthew Boyd, as did his 159 innings, which was also the second most of his career behind his 2024 season.

Rea came one win shy of tying a career high, going 11-7 for the season, but his 3.95 ERA was the lowest mark of his career. Diving further into that, you had a guy in Rea who posted an ERA below 1.5 in September and then went on to post a 1.17 ERA in three postseason games, as he was at his best when the games mattered the most.

Grade A-: Talk about a slam dunk of an offseason move from Jed Hoyer. Rea is going to go down as one of the steals of the offseason. These are the low-risk, high-reward deals we often discuss, and in this case, it worked out in the Cubs' favor. With an option year on the table for 2026, it seems unlikely that the Cubs won't pick that up, as he has a place on this team next season.

Ben Brown

Entering Spring Training, the Cubs were dealt a massive blow as Javier Assad was injured and wound up being lost for most of the season. That created an opening in the Cubs' rotation and one that saw Rea and Ben Brown battle it out during the Spring to earn the spot. Both pitchers pitched well, and even if Rea was slightly better, it was the swing and miss stuff from Brown that gave him the nod as he took over the No. 5 spot.

If they had to make that decision again, Rea would be the answer, but once Steele went down, both had to be in the rotation, so that argument went out the window. There is no question that Brown has some of the best talent on the entire staff, but two years into the league, he is struggling to harness it.

You saw that across his 25 games this season, 15 of which were starts, as Brown went 5-8 with a 5.92 ERA in 109 innings. He struck out 121 batters in those 109 innings, further showcasing his swing-and-miss stuff, but if this season proved anything, it would be that he is a long way away from being a reliable starter.

Grade D-: Things were a struggle for Brown this season, so much so that he got optioned to AAA twice to try and figure things out. To his credit, he took his demotion like a pro and did what he needed to do to get back to the bigs. Not only did that happen, but once he returned, he did look like a completely different pitcher, although in a different role as a reliever.

Perhaps that is where the future lies for Brown, as he is a two-pitch pitcher, and it's tough to get through a lineup with only two pitches. He needs to have a massive offseason as the Cubs look to figure out their long-term plans for him.

Cade Horton

It has been a long time since the Cubs could say they have had a homegrown Ace take the league by storm, but that conversation is officially over. Enter Cade Horton, who not only took the Cubs by storm this season, but also the entire National League as he emerged as the Cubs' Ace during the second half of the season.

After dealing with injuries during his first two seasons, the former first-round pick finally achieved his dream by reaching the majors this season, and the rest is history. Expected to be on an innings limit this season and potentially next, Horton gave the Cubs far more than they expected as he tossed 118 innings across 22 starts in his first professional season.

That is more innings than he combined for over his first two minor league seasons, but despite the workload, he was every bit as good as advertised as he finished the season with an 11-4 mark and a 2.65 ERA. That included an MLB-best 0.78 ERA after the All-Star break, as Horton was putting up 2015-like numbers, similar to those of Jake Arrieta. The next step in his development would be to reduce his strikeouts, as he struck out 97 times this season.

Season Grade A+: Horton was not only on a roll this season, but he was going to be the Cubs' No. 1 starter once the playoffs began. That was until a freak rip fracture ended his season and thus took him out of the playoffs. It was a crushing blow to not only him, but the Cubs as well, as he was the horse they had been waiting for.

Now entering arguably his most crucial offseason, the goal for Horton this offseason is to remain healthy and to prep for an even bigger workload next season. He should get the ball on opening day, but knowing how the Cubs operate, they may choose to push him to the No. 2 spot and go with an experienced vet to open the season.

The Cubs also saw players like Javier Assad and Michael Soroka make starts, and although both showed positive signs, they combined to make only eight starts, earning them an incomplete for their grade.