The Chicago Cubs farm system is loaded with talent, but some of the team’s young pitching assets spent a good portion of last season sidelined with injury.
Specifically, top pitching prospects Cade Horton and Ben Brown found themselves shut down after early season injuries. Brown had already dazzled in the majors at the time of his setback. Horton, meanwhile, was targeted for a quick rise through Triple-A and a few late-season appearances in Chicago.
The 25-year-old Brown, who suffered through nagging and season-ending neck problems, has received medical clearance this offseason to resume full-speed training.
The 23-year-old Horton, rehabbing from a subscapularis strain in his right shoulder, is just starting to get back into the groove with some touch-and-feel bullpen sessions. Like Brown, he’s expected to make a full recovery.
Cade Horton’s Fall
The Cubs’ 2022 first-round draft pick and current top pitching prospect, had some frustrating growing pains last season, as he tried to pitch through injury, further exasperating the strain that would eventually end his season in late May.
“That is tough, because I’m always the guy that’s wanting to go until I break,” Horton said at the Cubs Convention on Saturday. “Just having those people around me to be like, ‘No, let’s do the smart thing. You have a whole career ahead of you.’ That’s what I’ve really learned. You should say something and get right, because it’s hard to go out there and pitch if you aren’t feeling good.”
Horton is no stranger to injury-provoked setbacks.
Cade Horton’s Rise
In 2021, while still in college as a freshman Oklahoma Sooner, Horton had Tommy John surgery, which cost him more than a year of his burgeoning career. When he did come back, though, he was brilliant as he struck out 13 over 7.1 innings in the title game of the College World Series.
With just a few college innings under his belt, Chicago raised some eyebrows by drafting him no. 1. His quick rise through the Cubs system, however, seems to validate the team’s confidence in him.
By all accounts, Horton is the real deal and many feel that he’s elite.
Chicago Cubs Have An Asset In Horton
Per Josh Illes of North Side Baseball:
“When I look at Cade Horton, I see an ace. He’s the best Cubs pitching prospect since Mark Prior. Many folks have said both of those things; I’m not the first, but whenever I hear that, my mind immediately goes to the fact that if that is true, then Horton is the best prospect in the system…
His stuff is electric. He has a plus fastball with good movement that sits around 95 mph but can touch 98. His slider is downright nasty at around 86 mph with a hard break, a pitch that he is unafraid to throw in or out of the zone. He also throws an average curve and changeup, either of which should be capable of being developed into a quality third pitch in his arsenal.”
Up until now, Horton has lived up to expectations and has advanced quicker than anticipated. Health remains a concern for a young man already sporting a rebuilt arm, but he’s certainly saying all the right things when it comes to where his focus is aimed.
“I’m just wanting to find a seat on the plane and help my team win,” Horton said. “That’s my job at the end of the day, is to go out there and get outs, whether that be in the bullpen, whether that be starting. It really doesn’t matter to me. I want to help the Chicago Cubs win, and that’s my goal.”
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