Cade Horton's dominant rookie season and sizzling spring suggest he's poised to ascend into ace status for the Cubs.
A big question surrounding the Chicago Cubs this offseason was how pitcher Cade Horton was going to look in Year 2.
Horton took the league by storm in his first taste of the Majors last season. The 24-year-old finished with a 2.67 ERA and 97 strikeouts across 118 innings pitched and finished as the runner-up in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
His incredible second half was a reason for his runner-up finish. Horton was arguably the best pitcher in baseball after the All-Star break, with a 1.03 ERA and 54 strikeouts over the final 2 ½ months. He allowed one run or fewer in 11 of his final 12 starts.
Although Horton’s season ended a bit early last year due to a rib fracture, he has not missed a beat so far this spring. The right-hander has picked up right where he left off in his rookie campaign.
Horton threw two shutout innings with three strikeouts in his first spring appearance on February 25 and followed that up by delivering three scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Team Italy on Tuesday afternoon.
The Cubs pitcher made quick work in his first spring start against Team Italy. He threw 31 of 42 pitches for strikes and allowed only one hit and one walk across those three innings.
Horton didn’t get many swings and misses on his pitches in Tuesday’s start, only inducing two whiffs. However, he was extremely efficient on the mound and had 13 called strikes in the ballgame. 11 of those called strikes came on his four-seam fastball.
Horton’s four-seam fastball has a ton of life on the mound. He struck out 38 batters alone on that pitch in his rookie season and has averaged 95.9 mph on that fastball in his first two spring appearances.
The 24-year-old used all five of his pitches in Tuesday’s start. He leaned on his fastball the most at 62%, but did a good job mixing in his changeup, sweeper, curveball, and sinker in his three sharp innings.
Seeing Horton get off to a nice start this spring is an encouraging sign heading into 2026. While many projection models expect the Cubs pitcher to really regress in his second year in the big leagues, it’s hard to see him regressing that much this year.
Horton has the potential to establish himself as an ace in this Cubs rotation this season.