CHICAGO -- Cade Horton walked off the mound in the sixth inning on Friday afternoon and was greeted by a standing ovation from the Wrigley Field faithful. The Cubs rookie was tasked with taking on Paul Skenes and was up for the assignment, matching zeros with the Pirates' ace in an efficient performance.
Skenes has swiftly grown into a household name and one of the top arms in baseball since breaking into the Majors last season. Horton is getting his first taste of the big leagues, but the Cubs righty has hardly looked intimidated by the stage. In fact, Horton (Chicago's No. 1 prospect, No. 32 overall by MLB Pipeline) has seemed to embrace moments like facing Skenes.
“It’s fun. Iron sharpens iron,” Horton said after the Cubs’ 2-1 loss to the Pirates in 10 innings in the second game of a four-game set. “Being able to compete against him was really fun. And hopefully, we’re doing it for a lot of years.”
The 23-year-old was the Cubs’ first-round pick (No. 7 overall) in the 2022 Draft and was on pace to reach the Majors last season before an injury prematurely ended his campaign. Skenes, 23, was the first overall pick in the ‘23 Draft, reaching The Show in ‘24 and picking up the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award, plus a third-place finish for the NL Cy Young Award.
While Skenes has dominated MLB hitters to date, Horton has been proving himself within a Cubs rotation that is operating without injured lefties Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele. Following Imanaga’s left hamstring setback last month, Horton was summoned from Triple-A Iowa and has looked unfazed.
“In general, I think he responds well to that stuff,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said recently. “First two starts: Mets at home on a Saturday night and the White Sox at home. Obviously, he pitched great in the College World Series and things like that.
“I think he enjoys the stage. I don’t think he’s going to be a guy that’s going to run from it. And it’s a heck of a matchup with Skenes.”
Horton needed 76 pitches to get through his 5 2/3 innings in rainy conditions on Friday afternoon, exiting to rousing applause with a runner on third in the sixth. Lefty Caleb Thielbar finished the frame to put the final touches on the line for Horton, who struck out four, walked one and scattered three hits in a solid outing.
In his sixth career start against the Cubs, Skenes logged five scoreless frames, but Chicago’s lineup worked him for 95 pitches along the way. That included a 35-pitch third inning against the big righty, who struck out five and walked two. The Cubs’ offense was simply unable to push a run across against Skenes, who now has a 1.78 ERA through 15 starts this year.
Both Skenes and Horton registered nine whiffs apiece, though Horton did so on 30% of the swings he generated (compared to 20% for Skenes). Another way to look at how efficient Horton was against Pittsburgh is that he averaged 3.62 pitches per batter faced. On the other side, Skenes averaged 4.75 pitches per batter.
Cubs left fielder Ian Happ has been impressed by how Horton has gone right after hitters since reaching the Majors.
“He has a great mentality,” Happ said. “I think he has really good mound presence, and he’s got the right attitude for it. And the ability to throw strikes and the ability to fill up the zone is super important. It helps him get some length into games. The pitch count wasn't very high today.
“He did a great job of just making them beat him, and the stuff is really good. The stuff is going to play, as long as he’s in the zone.”
Through his first seven appearances -- Horton has started six games and entered following an opener in his MLB debut -- the righty has turned in a 3.47 ERA with 29 strikeouts against eight walks in 36 1/3 innings. The strikeout rate (19.0%) has been below his Minor League showing (31.7%), but Horton has demonstrated a better walk rate (5.2%) and said he is “learning and adapting” with the help of Chicago’s veteran pitchers.
“He’s pitching really well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s locked in and he’s delivering good outings. He’s efficient. His stuff plays in the strike zone, which is such an important thing for a young pitcher to feel. I look forward to giving him the ball the next time.”
Horton has shown he will be up for the next challenge, too.
“I’m not scared of the moment,” Horton said. “I love the moment -- just going out there and competing.”