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Cade Horton pitching in his MLB debut

On Saturday, Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Cade Horton was welcomed to the Major Leagues in style.  He helped carve out a tough 6-5 victory on the road against the New York Mets.

After the injury to Cubs Ace Shota Imanaga, many Cubs fans speculated that Horton would be called up to start this Saturday’s game in New York. While he wouldn’t start the game, Horton would be called up to make his debut against the Red-Hot Mets in front of a national Fox audience.

After a stress-free first inning from opener Brad Keller, Horton took center stage in Queens. He turned heads immediately by striking out the first batter he faced, Brandon Nimmo.

The one blemish for Cade Horton

It would be mostly smooth sailing for the former seventh overall pick. He cruised through a dominant Mets lineup in his first two innings of work. But his only blemish would come in the fourth inning. After allowing hits to Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos, Brett Baty would send a rocket to right field for a three-run homer.

The 23-year-old would end his night after four innings, striking out five batters and allowing three runs. By and large, this was a great debut from the Cubs’ top pitching prospect. While the stats won’t be great after this one, one swing of the bat contributed all the damage against Horton.

Speaking to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal after he exited the game, Horton gave an optimistic outlook on his Major League debut.

“It’s a really cool opportunity,” said Horton. “Just slow the game down and take it one pitch at a time…. I just tried to settle in as best as I could and just focus on the target, make my pitches when I needed to… I feel like I did a pretty good job of that.”

Great response to a unique circumstance

Entering the second inning will certainly not be the norm for the young fireballer going forward. But this unique circumstance allowed Horton to gain some confidence early on. By avoiding the deadly trio of Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso, Horton was able to get the nerves out in his first inning of work.

What’s important to take away from this game was his mindset, calm demeanor, and the way his pitches played against Major League hitters. And good ones at that.

When asked by Marquee Sports Network about his thoughts on Horton’s performance, Cubs manager Craig Counsell also gave a glowing review.

“I thought he did a nice job … he learned that his stuff definitely works here, plays here.”

The Oklahoma City native exited the game after the fifth inning with a 4-3 lead. In the eighth inning, Miguel Amaya would add two insurance runs as his single got through the left side.

But the Mets would make things interesting in the bottom of the frame. Baty hit yet another homer, this time to the opposite field, which pulled New York within one run.

Thankfully for Chicago, Porter Hodge was able to handle the Mets in the bottom half and secure a much-needed win after a recent skid.

Michael DeFrancisco Michael DeFrancisco is a writer and contributor covering MLB for Heavy Sports. He started working at Heavy in 2025 and has experince covering Chicago Sports. More about Michael DeFrancisco

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