Cubs First Rounder is Emerging as Best Pitching Prospect in 20 Years

Chicago Cubs 2022 first round pick Cade Horton has been on fire this season and not only is he gaining traction as one of the next top prospects in baseball, the right-handed starting pitcher might just be the best pitching prospect the Cubs have had in 20 years.

What makes Horton's performance in his first pro season so special is that he's pretty much doing it after focusing on only being a pitcher for the first time since he started playing the sport. Yeah, Horton is 21-years-old and went to college at Oklahoma, but it might easy to forget that he had Tommy John surgery and missed his freshman season. After that, Horton headed into the 2022 college baseball season still splitting time between the mound and as a position player for the Sooners.

Horton pitched a total of 53.2 innings in college, as he was eased in during his red-shirt freshman season and now in his pro debut season in the Cubs minor league system, Horton might be the best Cubs pitching prospect since Mark Prior.

On Wednesday night, Horton made his fifth start with the South Bend Cubs at Advanced A-Ball. The right-hander was incredible, striking out 10 batters, walking none, while surrendering just two hits in five innings.

Horton now has a 3.18 ERA through nine starts this season between low and high A with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and South Bend Cubs. Overall, he has give up 12 earned runs in 34 innings, but half of those came in his first start after he was promoted up from Low A-Ball.

Since Horton gave up six runs in 3.2 innings on May 10, the right-handed starting pitcher has only allowed four earned runs in 16 innings. But it's been his last three starts with South Bend that show he has quickly adjusted to the new level.

Cade Horton Starts May 24-June 7
3 Starts, 13 Innings Pitched
27 Strikeouts, 1 Walk
2 Earned Runs, 3 Hits

Oh yeah, that's not a typo. In his last three starts, Horton has struck out 27 batters and has only walked one. That should tell you a few things. He's throwing strikes, his fastball is beating hitters and his slider is also a weapon.

Earlier this season, Horton made it on to MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospect list and I'd like to imagine that once more prospect ranking outlets update their lists throughout the season that Horton will make it onto more and may be closer to a top-50 prospect if he keeps up his dominant performance.

If Horton does get more national recognition this year or following this year, then he could become the first Cubs pitching prospect to be ranked as a consensus top-50 prospect since 2001, when Mark Prior and Juan Cruz were both top-50 prospects.

It's also great to see this little internal battle going on in the Cubs farm system that is really only fan-driven, debating who the best pitching prospect is. For a long time this season it seemed like the clear answer was Ben Brown, who made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A in May, but as the year has progressed Horton has certainly closed the gap.

Speaking of Brown, the 23-year-old righty will be making his seventh start for the Iowa Cubs on Thursday night.