The Cubs are selling pitching prospect Cade Horton, per reporting from Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register first reported this afternoon that Horton was touring to New York upfront of this weekend’s collection in opposition to the Mets. The younger righty will not be but on the membership’s 40-man roster, in order that they might want to open a spot for him.
Chicago’s rotation has taken just a few notable hits just lately. They got here into the season with Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga as a one-two punch atop the rotation. Sadly, Steele required UCL surgical procedure final month, placing him out of motion for the remainder of the 12 months. Imanaga suffered a hamstring pressure just a few days in the past. He’s absolutely going through a far shorter absence than Steele however has been positioned on the 15-day IL, which means he’ll miss not less than just a few turns by way of the rotation.
These are the 2 most evident losses, however the golf equipment has additionally been with out Javier Assad all 12 months. He began the season on the 15-day injured record on account of an indirect pressure. He began a rehab task final month however re-aggravated the identical muscle, struggling a Grade 2 pressure.
These accidents have created a gap for Horton to make it to the majors for the primary time. The Cubs have “TBD” listed as their starter for Saturday’s sport at Citi Discipline, which is able to seemingly be when Horton takes the ball. It appeared the choice on Imanaga’s rotation spot got here right down to selling Horton or stretching out veteran swingman Chris Flexen.
Horton is the higher-upside play. Chicago chosen him out of Oklahoma with the seventh total choose in 2022. The 6’1″ righty has been the group’s high pitching prospect over the previous few seasons. His arsenal is headlined by a mid-90s fastball and a slider that grades as a plus pitch. Horton’s fastball velocity had dipped barely to the 94 MPH vary final 12 months however has rebounded to take a seat at 95.8 MPH on common with Triple-A Iowa this season.
The 23-year-old has been out to a wonderful begin in Triple-A. Horton carries a 1.24 ERA whereas placing out practically 31% of batters confronted by way of 29 innings. He’s issuing walks at a lofty 12% clip, however the high-octane stuff will get him a chance to step into Imanaga’s rotation spot. If Imanaga makes it again inside just a few weeks, it could be a short call-up, however the Cubs may theoretically push Ben Brown or Colin Rea to the bullpen if Horton forces their hand with a powerful exhibiting over his first few begins.
It’s too late for Horton to achieve a full 12 months of service time the standard means. He meets the required prospect standards to qualify for the Prospect Promotion Incentive, nonetheless. Meaning he may earn a full service 12 months if he finishes within the high two in NL Rookie of the 12 months balloting. The Cubs wouldn’t obtain a bonus draft selection if that occurs as a result of they didn’t promote Horton early sufficient to spend 172 days within the majors.
