With Shota Imanaga’s spot in the rotation coming up during this weekend’s series against the New York Mets at Citi Field, decision time is looming for the Chicago Cubs. With swingman Colin Rea already replacing the injured Justin Steele and Javier Assad shut down for the forseeable future, fans are clamoring for the MLB debut of top pitching prospect Cade Horton.
And if you want to play ‘connect the dots’ – there’s reason to believe we could see Horton get the call this weekend. Here’s why:
Struggling left-hander Jordan Wicks, who has bounced up and down between Iowa and Chicago the last few years, is starting Wednesday morning for the I-Cubs, taking him out of the running for a spot start this weekend in Queens. Regardless, the former first-rounder wouldn’t have been a confidence-inspiring choice to join the big-league rotation given his struggles at Triple-A this year.
Jordan Wicks has work to do before Cubs can rely on him again
In four starts and a relief appearance spanning 18 1/3 innings, Wicks carries a 6.38 ERA, 1.850 WHIP and .325 opponent batting average. He hasn’t been regularly effective at Iowa since the 2023 season and it’s safe to say the shine has worn off for Wicks over the last two years. Re-establishing himself at Triple-A needs to be his top priority before we start looking at him as a legitimate rotation piece again.
So cross Wicks off the list of potential fill-ins. Another top candidate, veteran Chris Flexen, who was called up from Iowa last week, pitched an inning of relief in the Cubs’ embarrassing extra-inning loss on Tuesday night. That doesn’t preclude him from getting the start this weekend, but he’s been quite successful in a pair of relief appearances since joining the club (four scoreless innings across two outings).
Cade Horton looks ready to make his MLB debut with the Cubs
Which brings us back to Horton. Coincidentally, the right-hander’s schedule aligns perfectly with Imanaga’s, which would make slotting him into his spot in the rotation relatively pain-free. Fans were upset when Horton wasn’t the corresponding move when Imanaga went on the IL, but since the Cubs didn’t need a starter until this weekend, adding the extra reliever in Gavin Hollowell made all the sense in the world.
As we’ve said multiple times of late, Horton has checked every box imaginable this year at Iowa. Maybe you’d like to see him have this success a little longer, but given the Cubs’ need in the rotation and what’s at stake this year, it seems like a perfect time to bring up their top pitching prospect. This season at Triple-A, Horton has looked dominant, posting a 1.24 ERA in six starts. And soon, we may get that long-awaited glimpse of him in a Cubs uniform, with a chance to make his mark on the big-league club.