Chicago Cubs Prospect Profile: Cade Horton |
The Chicago Cubs are no stranger to having prospects loaded with hype. Some of them pan out, as you saw during the Cubs' World Series run, and then some of them don't, Brennen Davis coming to mind. You also have that category of the unknown, where they are still young enough to pan out, but they are also teetering on possibly never making it.
Despite sitting at No. 3 in the Cubs organization, Cade Horton still has many unknowns. Not since Mark Prior has a Cubs pitching prospect had as much hype as Horton, but given his injury history over the past few seasons, some wonder if he will be able to reach his potential. One of the better two-way prospects ahead of the 2020 MLB draft, Horton went unselected and then chose to enroll at the University of Oklahoma as a quarterback. After failing to see the field that fall and then having Tommy John surgery during his freshman season at Oklahoma, Horton ditched football and focused purely on baseball. It took Horton over a year to regain his form, but once he did, he dominated for the Sooners in the College World Series, pitching one of the best games in the series. Despite his small sample size, his stuff is elite, and because of that, the Cubs took him with the seventh overall pick and signed him for $4.4 million. A massive all-or-nothing selection, many felt the Cubs had the steal of the first round as several scouts raved about Horton, claiming he was the best starter in the entire class. As expected, the Cubs would take their time with Horton and thus waited until 2023 for them to unleash him on professional hitters. During his first professional season, Horton was on an innings limit and only tossed 88 innings, but he made 21 starts and was very good, going 4-4 and posting a 2.65 ERA. He did that by overpowering hitters, walking 27 and punching out 117. 2024 was supposed to be the season where Horton turned the corner to emerge as a big league arm, and after going 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA in four AA starts, he was well on his way to doing that. His start to the season was all the Cubs needed to see to move him to AAA, where he showed flashes of being the Ace the Cubs were hoping for but also the struggles some feared would show up with better hitting. In five games, Horton was limited to 18 innings with AAA, going 1-1 and posting a 7.50, as his season ended with an injury. That makes 30 starts in two seasons and just 120 innings under his belt. There are concerns about his long-term health, but the stuff is there for him to make a difference, even if it is in a relief role for now. What differentiates Horton from many Cubs prospects is his ability to overpower hitters with a 98 MPH heater and pound the zone with strikes. He mixes that heater with an 87 MPH change and 82 MPH curve that he hasn't thrown a ton. However, the slider turned Horton into the dominating force that he is, as that slider can touch 92 MPH but tends to sit around 88. Given that he has four pitches but three that he goes to the most, Horton has the arsenal to be a long-term starter. However, should health and durability be a factor, Horton is the ideal candidate to become a high-leverage reliever, as he can use his fastball/slider combo to get hitters out. While the Cubs still see him as a front-of-the-line starter with ace-caliber stuff, you have to wonder if there are some questions surrounding his plan for 2025. Yes, you want to monitor his innings again, coming off another injury, but how much monitoring is too much? At some point, you need to turn him loose, or his arm will never be in the shape you need it to be. Of all the prospects needing a breakout in 2025, Horton is the name that comes to mind, as his future hinges on how he bounces back from another injury.
