Cubs top prospect Horton likely done for the year
This browser does not support the video element.
CHICAGO -- Cade Horton’s 2024 season is likely over.
Horton (the Cubs’ No. 1 prospect, No. 17 overall, according to MLB Pipeline) suffered a setback in his rehab from a right lat strain, MLB.com confirmed. The expectation is he will get back to throwing, but given where the calendar is, the 22-year-old getting back to competitive action before the end of the Minor League season would be difficult.
The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro first reported the news on Horton’s setback.
This browser does not support the video element.
It’s a tough ending to what was shaping up to be a positive season for Horton in his developmental path. The Cubs’ 2022 first-round Draft pick was promoted from Double-A Tennessee to Triple-A Iowa on April 30, after he posted a 1.10 ERA in four starts with the Smokies, with 18 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.
Horton made five starts with Iowa, recording a 7.50 ERA in 18 innings, before landing on the 7-day injured list on May 31. He was diagnosed with a right lat strain on June 4 and shut down from throwing for a month.
This browser does not support the video element.
Horton was transferred to the 60-day IL on July 24 and had been in Arizona working through a throwing program as the Cubs took a conservative approach to his rehab.
This was Horton’s second season in the Minor Leagues; he did not pitch in competitive action after the Cubs drafted him seventh overall in 2022. In 2023, he had a 2.65 ERA and 117 strikeouts over 88 1/3 innings over 21 starts between Single-A Myrtle Beach, High-A South Bend and Tennessee.