No. 2 prospect Horton looking ¡®electric¡¯ with I-Cubs

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian¡¯s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- When Jordan Wicks saw Cubs pitching prospect Cade Horton with Triple-A Iowa last season, he could tell the right-hander was not entirely right on the mound. A year later, Wicks¡¯ eyes lit up when asked how Horton has looked out of the gate this season.

¡°He looks completely different,¡± said Wicks, who is back with the Cubs after opening the year with the I-Cubs. ¡°It¡¯s electric.¡±

At some point this season, the 23-year-old Horton -- Pipeline¡¯s No. 2 Cubs prospect and No. 48 on the Top 100 list -- will likely suit up for the Cubs. With the recent news that Justin Steele is out for the season following left elbow surgery, plenty of fans jump to the idea of wanting to see Horton at Wrigley Field sooner than later.

Rushing Horton to the big leagues is not in the plans for the Cubs, who had veteran Colin Rea ready to slide into the rotation, plus Javier Assad making his way back from a rehab stint soon and Wicks also in the fold. And Horton missed most of last season due to a Grade 2 strain of a muscle (subscapularis) behind his right shoulder.

¡°The best thing that's happening with Cade right now is he's taking the ball every six days,¡± Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°Just keep taking the ball. Keep developing. Keep improving. And we'll see where that gets us sometime in the middle of the summer. I think Cade needs to pitch. I think there's mound time that's really important to him.¡±

Through his first three outings for Triple-A Iowa this season, Horton has turned in a 1.46 ERA with 18 strikeouts and only five hits allowed in 12 1/3 innings. The righty has issued 10 walks, but Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler noted that Horton is still honing his secondary pitches early in the season.

¡°The shapes on the secondaries are good,¡± Kanzler said. ¡°He¡¯s continuing to work on finding ways to put guys away with those secondaries. It¡¯s sometimes difficult when you have secondaries that are larger shapes, or sharper. If opposing hitters know that, then you could kind of get game-planned with passivity.

¡°So, it¡¯s finding ways to use his secondaries effectively, because he can generate a lot of whiff. We¡¯ve just got to get those hitters to swing at them, which I¡¯m very confident he¡¯ll be able to do.¡±

Per Statcast, Horton generated just five whiffs out of 32 swings (16%) against St. Paul in his most recent outing. His fastball touched 98 mph, while sitting at 95.8 mph on average. Horton leans mostly on a fastball-slider combination, but also has a curveball and changeup that he works into the mix.

A year ago, Horton¡¯s max velocity in his final outing of the season on May 29 was 95.7 mph, offering a glimpse into the extent of his arm setback at the time. His season ended after nine starts and 34 1/3 innings, ending Horton¡¯s bid to push for an MLB debut last year.

That moment may yet arrive in ¡®25, but the Cubs want the prospect¡¯s focus on the day in front of him, not on that day in the future.

¡°He¡¯s getting innings under his belt,¡± Kanzler said. ¡°The most important thing for him is to continue on this consistent path and trend and not worry about what¡¯s happening in the Major Leagues. Cade is a fierce competitor, so I think him focusing his competitiveness on winning every day, winning his day, versus some future need in the Major Leagues, is a massive positive development for him.¡±