As the Chicago Cubs get a better understanding of how long Shota Imanaga could be sidelined by his left hamstring strain, the organization’s discussions on his rotation replacement will include an intriguing option.
Top pitching prospect Cade Horton will be considered for the opening in the rotation, though the Cubs have not made any decisions on what route they might take. They won’t need a pitcher for Imanaga’s turn until Saturday at the earliest, though that could be modified to a later date due to off days the next two Thursdays.
Right-hander Chris Flexen, currently in the bullpen, will also be in the conversation to start. He remains stretched out enough as the Cubs’ long reliever. But nobody in the Cubs’ system who could be in the mix has as much upside as Horton, the No. 7 pick in the 2022 MLB draft.
“He’s continuing to get better from start to start, and he’s been consistently good down there,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said of Horton’s Triple-A Iowa performance. “He’s 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, so he’s done his part in Triple A certainly, throwing the ball well.”
A Grade 2 subscapularis strain in his right shoulder limited Horton to 34 1/3 innings in 2024, and the right-hander didn’t pitch after May 29. He’s almost eclipsed that mark this year, sitting at 29 innings through six starts with Iowa.
Among the areas the Cubs wanted Horton to focus on this year was the consistency of throwing competitive pitches. Hoyer said they have seen progress in that area.
“Throwing non-competitive pitches in the big leagues puts you in bad counts pretty quickly, counts that you can probably pitch out of in Triple A easier than you can in the big leagues,” Hoyer said. “So this consistency of your pitches — not throwing one good, one bad — but making sure you’re consistent and therefore, like I said, avoiding free pitches.”
As the Cubs weigh what path they want to take to fill Imanaga’s innings, the organization must decide whether Horton’s continued development at Triple A is more valuable than bringing him up sooner rather than later to see how his stuff plays against better hitters. He’s thrown at least 76 pitches in his last four outings, the last two getting through six innings, but he hasn’t hit the 80-pitch mark yet this year.
Hoyer stated there isn’t hesitancy relating to Horton himself, rather the Cubs are making sure it’s the right time to bring up Horton.
“It’s easier to work on things in the minors and he didn’t pitch a lot last year,” Hoyer said. “I think if he had pitched all last season he may well have debuted by now. But if he had debuted, we’d have a better sense of what he is, whereas because he missed a lot of time last year that it’s been good to give him a foundation in Iowa.”