The Chicago Cubs are planning to unleash Cade Horton, a young pitcher whose athleticism, adaptability and attitude signify a potential ace at the front of a championship-caliber rotation.
Reaching that next level, however, will likely happen incrementally rather than in one fell swoop. A deliberate approach helped Horton finish second in last season’s National League Rookie of the Year voting, earning him a full year of major-league service time that moved up his timetable to become a free agent.
Managing Horton’s Workload
Cade Horton never threw more than 94 pitches in a single start last season as the Cubs deliberately managed his workload.
In an effort to protect their investments, while also factoring in the possibility of a long playoff run, the Cubs constantly track their pitchers and measure their production. Horton doesn’t have the temperament or stature to bark at his manager on the mound or complain through postgame media sessions, but the right-hander is a bit of a throwback as a competitor who wants the ball and expects to dominate.
“My job is to go out there and get outs,” Horton said, “and when they take the ball from me, they take the ball from me. Yeah, hopefully, I get more innings this year and really put more on my workload. That’s something I want.”
Horton’s Development and Future
Horton, once a football recruit and two-way baseball player, emerged as the No. 7 pick in the 2022 MLB draft after recovering from Tommy John surgery and helping lead Oklahoma to the College World Series.
Horton is 24 years old and under club control through 2030, linking his future to the franchise’s long-term outlook. For now, Cubs manager Craig Counsell is focused on setting the foundation for Horton’s 2026 season, which continues with Friday’s start at Progressive Field for the Guardians’ home opener.
“If you look at history,” Counsell said, “the first three weeks of the season for pitchers are pretty delicate.”
Echoes of 2016
Horton’s intrinsic qualities would have meshed well with some of the big personalities on the 2016 World Series team, a group back on the radar for its 10-year reunion tour. This weekend’s series in Cleveland will also bring back memories of the epic Game 7 that ended a title drought that lasted more than a century.
Given how much the game has evolved since that series — a push for max-effort stuff, shifts in bullpen usage, rule changes and advances in technology — the Cubs may never again assemble a rotation with that much durability and resilience.
In 2016, a five-man group accounted for 152 starts across the 162-game season, with each pitcher making between 29 and 32 starts. Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks each pitched into November and crossed the 200-inning threshold. In 17 playoff games, the Cubs did not utilize a single homegrown pitcher.
The Cubs did not put a hard cap on Horton’s innings last year, but there were guidelines in place to manage a pitcher who had thrown only 34 1/3 innings in 2024 and already had an extensive medical history.