BCB After Dark: What should Cubs fans expect from Cade Horton?

We’re having a wild day at the late-week, late-night, indie coffee shop where we are all stunned that the new Pope is from Chicago. It’s the talk of the bar where we’re mixing up any cocktail you can imagine or a fancy pour-over of your favorite coffee beans if you are working on a deadline and need caffeine instead.

As we were all frantically trying to figure out if the new Pope was a Cubs or a Sox fan, Tommy Birch, a Sports features reporter for the Des Moines Register, reported that the Cubs would be calling up their top pitching prospect Cade Horton:

Oh, and as for the Pope, his brother says he’s a White Sox fan, so that seems pretty definitive. However, anyone who is from Chicago and loves baseball is alright with me (BlueSky link):

It’s quite a day here in Chicago and we are absolutely reveling in all of it. You’ve got The Weiner’s Circle out with this:

And Chicagoans are just getting started:

And I found myself walking around with Sweet Home Chicago in my head:

Sweet Home Chicago is a blues staple that was originally recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. Like many classic blues songs, there are a variety of recordings, including this one by Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi for the excellent movie The Blues Brothers:

Cubs fans are certainly familiar with the tune which is usually the second song played after every Cubs game, win or lose.

Back here in Cubslandia, we are buzzing with news that Cade Horton will be called up to make his MLB debut this weekend. That implies Horton will pitch at some point during the Cubs series against the Mets, although as of the time I’m writing this the team has not confirmed he’ll be called up. For that matter, we don’t have a lot of clarity on what Horton’s role with the team will be this weekend. While many are assuming (probably correctly) he’ll be Saturday’s starter in place of Shōta Imanaga, it’s worth remembering that the Craig Counsell-led Cubs have called up starting pitchers before to have them ease into the role from the bullpen (see, for example, Ben Brown’s call up last year).

I personally believe that the Cubs are calling up Horton to start sooner rather than later. We may see an opener or the like during the Mets series, but with Justin Steele out for the year, Javier Assad suffering a setback in his recovery from an oblique injury and Imanaga landing on the injured list with a hamstring strain, the Cubs have to be hoping for starter innings out of their best pitching prospect in years.

Horton was the Cubs surprise first round pick in the 2022 draft, if you recall that was the year many draft watchers thought there were seven can’t miss MLB prospects. The Cubs were one of two teams with a top seven pick who zagged away from that common wisdom, mostly on the strength of Horton’s slider and his performance during the 2022 College World Series.

He’s dealt with injuries off and on, but the pitch mix has dazzled baseball’s stuff watchers, as you can see from this profile below:

So far in 2025 he’s been exceptional in Triple-A throwing 29 innings over six starts with a 1.24 ERA. His FIP of 3.58 and xFIP of 4.23 indicate there may be some luck in those numbers, but it is worth noting that one of the big variables FIP and xFIP attempt to smooth over is the defense behind a pitcher, which will likely improve for Horton with the Cubs. Horton’s strikeout rate of 30.6 percent of Triple-A batters is one of his more impressive stats, although it is tempered a bit by his elevated 12.0 percent walk rate.

Bleed Cubbie Blue’s Josh Timmers will have a more in-depth full report on Horton later this morning.

However, for now, I’m curious what Cubs fans are really expecting from Cade Horton as he likely makes his MLB debut this weekend. After all, even the best pitchers can stumble out of the gate against much tougher MLB hitters, and there aren’t many offenses in baseball more intimidating than the New York Mets these days. Take, for example, last year’s Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes, who looked solid against the Cubs in his debut but somewhat mortal giving up three earned runs on six hits in four innings, striking out seven and walking two — before pitching at another level for the rest of the 2024 seasons.

To be clear, I use the above as an illustration that even the best pitching prospects can struggle when they first arrive at MLB. Horton is not Skenes. Skenes was ranked as the top prospect in the Pirates organization and number four prospect in baseball with a 65 Future Value grade according to FanGraphs when he was called up in 2024. Horton is the number three prospect in the Cubs organization and number 54 overall with a 50 Future Value according to FanGraphs.

So I ask you, Cubs fans, what should we expect from Cade Horton when he makes his debut with the big league team? Feel free to discuss and debate into the wee hours of the morning, but be sure you bus your tables and tip the waitstaff. I’d hate to leave a mess for Josh on Monday.

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