Cubs to call up their top pitching prospect Horton

NEW YORK -- Cade Horton has been performing lately like a pitcher with little left to prove with Triple-A Iowa. With the Major League staff now facing a sudden need, the Cubs are planning to give their top pitching prospect his first test on the big league stage.

Horton (MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 Cubs prospect and No. 46 on the Top 100 list) has joined the team for this weekend's series against the Mets, and he will be activated before Saturday's game at Citi Field, manager Craig Counsell said Friday.

Counsell said after the Cubs' 7-2 loss in the series opener that Brad Keller, a reliever, will start Saturday's game. Horton could be an option to pitch behind Keller during the game, which Counsell said would "essentially" be a bullpen game.

Whenever Horton pitches, the 23-year-old right-hander will be making his MLB debut. Saturday would have been Shota Imanaga's turn to start, but Imanaga landed on the 15-day injured list on Monday due to a left hamstring strain, which is expected to keep the left-hander sidelined for at least a few weeks.

Horton, who was dominating at Triple-A this season after missing much of last year due to injury, is now an option to fill innings with Imanaga out.

"It's been crazy, but I think it's a testament to all the hard work I put in this offseason and the strides I've made," Horton said Friday. "Just maturing and really knowing it's my time."

This has been Horton's goal since Spring Training, when Counsell told him: "Keep going and make us call you up."

"I feel like I put myself in a position to do that," Horton said. "And now here we are."

Horton last pitched for Iowa on Sunday, putting him in line to pitch on Saturday without any restrictions. He worked a career-high six innings for the second outing in a row and was efficient in both starts. Horton logged 78 and 77 pitches, respectively, in his past two turns.

Overall this season, Horton has turned in a 1.24 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 13 walks in 29 innings. He has surrendered just 12 hits (including two home runs) while holding opposing batters to a .129/.241/.204 slash line. Horton has been sitting around 95-96 mph with his fastball this season, touching 98 at times.

"I think that's number one: He's the guy that's pitching the best in Iowa," Counsell said. "The player's got to earn the opportunity. He's off to a great start this season. He's pitched very well -- particularly, his last three starts have been really, really good. So he's earned the opportunity."

But even so, Horton said he wasn't looking for the big league callup even after Imanaga got hurt.

"I've really tried to focus this year on just being where my feet are," Horton said. "I didn't want to play GM, because when you play GM, it just never works out that way. So I was just really waiting."

Horton was in his hotel room when he got the news that he was headed to the Majors. Iowa pitching coach Tony Cougoule told him to go see manager Marty Pevey. The reason, allegedly, was that Horton had won Triple-A Pitcher of the Month.

"In my head, I'm thinking, 'You know, I think that was given out like a week ago. I didn't win it,'" Horton said. "So red flag there. And then I went up to Marty's room and he broke the news to me. It was a super cool moment."

Horton first called his wife, then his parents. His family and his wife's family will be in New York this weekend to hopefully watch him pitch his first Major League game.

“He’s just continued to get better from start to start,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said earlier this week, in the wake of Imanaga's injury. “And he’s been consistently good down there. He’s sort of built off a good Spring Training, but his last couple starts were better than the first couple starts down there.

“He’s been going six innings and throwing well. He’s done his part in Triple-A.”

Horton is with the big league club for a reason after forcing the team's hand.

"You always want it this way, of course," Counsell said. "I think that's the best way, right? He's been pitching well, and it is hard to ignore that. ... This is a lot of growth. And I think, as you start out the season with Cade in Spring Training, you understand that he's a talented, talented pitcher that -- if we laid a good foundation for him -- you suspected that he was going to make an impact on his team."

A first-round pick by the Cubs in the 2022 Draft (seventh overall), Horton has logged a 2.79 ERA with 190 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings in 36 starts since 2023. He was limited to just nine starts last year between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A due to an injury related to his right shoulder.

Given Horton’s injury history, the Cubs are closely monitoring a wide range of data related to both his pitching and training. What the team does not have is a hard innings cap for the prospect.

“I think having a preset number, I don't think that makes a lot of sense,” Hoyer said. “I think what makes more sense is really paying attention if you see dips in certain factors that are important and that we’ll be aware of. I think that goes for all our pitchers.”