No. 2 prospect Horton 'an option' to replace Imanaga in rotation

CHICAGO -- The consistent message from the Cubs’ decision-makers about top pitching prospect Cade Horton has been that the righty needs to establish a foundation of health and performance with Triple-A Iowa before a promotion to Chicago could be discussed.

After Shota Imanaga exited his start Sunday due to a left hamstring injury -- one that landed the Cubs' lefty on the 15-day injured list on Monday -- it was natural to wonder if Chicago’s thoughts on Horton’s potential readiness had shifted at all. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged that Horton is in the conversation about the rotation.

“Obviously, Cade’s an option,” Hoyer said. “He’s one of several options and we’ll talk through the right way to go forward.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell also named Horton as an option for Saturday’s vacant starting assignment against the Mets, adding that Thursday’s off-day gives Chicago multiple possibilities for that game. That said, let’s take a look at some of the questions surrounding Horton, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 Cubs prospect and No. 46 on the Top 100 list.

How has Horton been pitching?
Horton has made six starts for Triple-A Iowa this season, spinning a 1.24 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 13 walks in 29 innings. Ten of those free passes came in his first three outings. Overall, the 23-year-old righty has given up just 12 hits (two homers), holding opposing batters to a .129/.241/.204 slash line so far this season.

Per Statcast, Horton has been averaging between 95.1-96.3 mph on his fastball from start to start, reaching 98 mph a few times this season. In his most recent start, he sat at 95.1 mph and topped out at 97.1 mph.

“He’s just continued to get better from start to start,” Hoyer said. “He’s been consistently good down there. He’s sort of built off a good Spring Training, but his last couple starts were better than the first couple starts down there.”

What has Horton been working on in Iowa?
In a recent conversation about Horton, Counsell said there are “absolutely things that he needs to keep improving on.” The manager added that pitchers can have flaws exposed quickly on the Major League stage that do not always show up in the Minors. Hoyer was asked what boxes Horton was working on checking in the first month.

“The biggest thing is always just competitive pitches,” Hoyer said. “Throwing non-competitive pitches in the big leagues puts you in bad counts pretty quickly, counts that you can probably pitch out of in Triple-A easier than you can in the big leagues.

“It’s just the consistency of your pitches. Not throwing kind of one good, one bad, but making sure that you’re consistent and, therefore, you’re avoiding free pitches. The difference between a 1-2 count and a 2-2 count is a pretty big difference. That’s probably the biggest thing he’s been working on.”

Does Horton’s schedule line up for Saturday?
Horton pitched on Sunday -- the same day as Imanaga -- so he would be set up to start on Saturday on normal rest. The right-hander went a career-high six innings for a second start in a row, needing just 78 pitches to do so after throwing 77 in his previous turn. Facing the Mets might not be a “soft landing” for Horton, but it could also serve as trial by fire.

“I think it’s something you talk through,” Hoyer said. “We have to figure out what our options are and what the schedule looks like to do it, but I think it’s something you talk about. We haven’t gotten there yet.”

Is Horton facing a workload limit?
Horton -- picked by the Cubs in the first round of the ‘22 Draft -- only threw 34 1/3 innings in nine starts last season between Double-A and Triple-A due to an injury related to his right shoulder. Horton does not have a hard innings cap for ‘25, as the Cubs rely more on underlying data to inform decisions about workload.

“A lot of it,” Hoyer said, “is the high-performance guys, strength guys, trainers, everyone collectively kind of monitoring the arm fatigue, monitoring where he is physically. I think having a pre-set number, I don't think that makes a lot of sense. I think what makes more sense is really paying attention if you see dips in certain factors that are important and that we’ll be aware of. I think that goes for all our pitchers.”