Horton will undergo an exam on his right shoulder in mid-November in hopes of gaining clearance to begin a throwing program, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Horton missed the final four months of the 2024 season due to a moderate subscapularis strain in his pitching shoulder. If he's able to begin throwing this month, the 23-year-old should have a relatively normal offseason. Horton got off to a great start at Double-A Tennessee (1.10 ERA) this season but posted a 7.50 ERA in five starts with Triple-A Iowa before getting injured. He is likely to return to Iowa to begin 2025 but, if healthy, has a good shot to enter the Cubs' rotation at some point during the season.
... See More... See Less
Cubs' Cade Horton: Likely out for season
Rotowire
Horton recently suffered a setback in his rehab for a right lat strain and isn't expected to return from Triple-A Iowa's 60-day injured list this season, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Though Horton is expected to resume throwing before Iowa's season comes to an end Sept. 22, the 22-year-old right-hander won't have enough time to get ramped up for a return to game action. The setback is a tough development for Horton, who is one of the Cubs' top pitching prospects and looked like a candidate to make his MLB debut at some point in 2024 before suffering the lat injury in late May. Over his nine starts with Double-A Tennessee and Iowa this season, Horton compiled a 4.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 40:13 K:BB over 34.1 innings.
... See More... See Less
Cubs' Cade Horton: Missing bats at High-A
Rotowire
Horton has a 3.89 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 28.7 K-BB% in nine starts (39.1 innings) for High-A South Bend.
The No. 7 overall pick in last year's draft, Horton made his first four pro starts at Single-A before quickly getting the bump to High-A in early May. With a slew of promotions and graduations, Horton has a case as one of the top five pitching prospects left in the minors. He has given up five or more earned runs in two of his nine starts at High-A, but he had a dominant seven-start run from May 17 through June 29, logging a 1.76 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. Given his age (turns 22 in August) and pedigree, Horton should soon get a promotion to Double-A Tennessee.
... See More... See Less
Cubs' Cade Horton: Bumped to High-A
Rotowire
Horton will make his High-A debut Wednesday after logging a 1.26 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 14.1 innings across four starts for Single-A Myrtle Beach.
The No. 7 overall pick in last year's draft, Horton has one of the best sliders in the minors and was overmatching Single-A hitters in his pro debut. He could feasibly climb beyond High-A this season if he stays healthy, but injuries limited him to 53.2 innings at Oklahoma, so his workload will be monitored.
