Cubs looking for Horton to compete for rotation spot in 2025

CLEVELAND -- The hope heading into this season was that pitching prospect Cade Horton might be getting his first taste of the Major Leagues down the stretch with the Cubs. A persistent injury for the righty this year has pushed his potential arrival to Chicago back to 2025.

Prior to Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Guardians, Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins took a seat in the visitors’ dugout at Progressive Field and discussed an array of topics, including Horton’s ongoing comeback.

The goal right now for the ballclub is to play things safe with its top pitching prospect, given his importance in the larger picture.

“At this point of the year and this point of his career,” Hawkins said, “it's not something that we wanted to push. We feel confident that he'll be ready to rock and roll come Spring Training, and certainly he’ll be part of our plans for next year. We just felt like pushing for this year wasn't the smartest thing.”

Hawkins explained that Horton (MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 Cubs prospect and No. 31 on the updated Top 100 list) was recently shut down from throwing due to experiencing pain in the “same area” (right subscapularis strain) that landed him on the injured list in late May.

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That cuts off the runway for Horton, who was the Cubs’ top pick (No. 7 overall) in the 2022 MLB Draft, to return to game action during the season.

Asked if Horton might be able to make a push to return in time for the Arizona Fall League in October, Hawkins acknowledged that the idea is “a consideration.” The GM also noted that the player development group has to not only weigh the ramp-up period for Horton, but also the “down ramp” before the offseason.

“And you’ve got to think about ramping back up for Spring Training,” Hawkins said. “It’s not out of the question, but that’s part of the conversation.”

Hawkins was back in Cleveland, where he climbed the front-office ranks with a focus on player development before the Cubs hired him away to be the GM ahead of the 2022 season. One reason for seeking Hawkins as part of president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s team was the constant flow of pitching talent from the farm to Cleveland’s big league staff.

Over the past several years, the Cubs have made considerable progress on that same front. Justin Steele climbed to the Majors in ‘21 and has since established himself as one of the top starters in the game. Javier Assad, who started on Tuesday night, rose from Double-A to the Majors in ‘22 and has been a consistent performer for the Cubs.

Chicago’s rotation is currently led by Steele, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon, with Assad as part of the younger foundation behind that trio. Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski (both acquired via trade in ‘22) and Jordan Wicks (first-round pick in ‘21) are all currently on the injured list, but are nonetheless building blocks.

“You want as many guys as you can,” manager Craig Counsell said recently. “We need great performers and great pitchers. We have the start of that. … And I think it’s something that’s also hard to just go out and get, right? That’s probably the most reassuring part, we have a very solid foundation of starting pitching here.”

Horton leads the cast of pitching prospects who will be on the radar for ‘25 and beyond.

Horton, who will turn 23 on Aug. 20, spun a 1.10 ERA with 18 strikeouts and two walks in his first four starts (16 1/3 innings) this year at Double-A Tennessee before earning a promotion. It was a strong opening act after the right-hander had a 2.65 ERA and 117 strikeouts against 27 walks in 88 1/3 innings (21 starts) as he climbed from Single-A to Double-A in ‘23.

Horton then posted a 7.50 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 11 walks in 18 innings (five starts) with Triple-A Iowa before being shut down for roughly a month due to the injury setback. Horton moved his rehab to Arizona and resumed a throwing program, but never reached the point of getting back on a mound.

The prospect’s climb to the Cubs is now on hold until ‘25.

“We’ll try to build him up as best we can in Spring Training and you give him some chances there,” Hawkins said. “Almost every pitcher that’s been up in the big leagues has had setbacks like this. There’s plenty of opportunity for him to catch up.”