{"id":169121,"date":"2026-03-25T14:56:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T14:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121"},"modified":"2026-03-25T14:56:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T14:56:51","slug":"cubs-young-gun-is-ready-to-take-over-their-breakout-youngster-is-now-expected-to-battle-for-the-nl-cy-young-award-this-is-the-rise-of-a-new-ace-that-could-change-chicagos-future-fo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121","title":{"rendered":"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2239646731-e1774368009555.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2239646731-e1774368009555.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2239646731-e1774368009555.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2239646731-e1774368009555.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cubs Youngster Expected to Compete for NL Cy Young\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is expected to take a major step forward in 2026. The youngster recently impressed in his rookie campaign, posting an 11-4 record, a 2.67 ERA, and a 1.08 WHIP. His stellar season earned the ace a second-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. Horton was only edged out in the award by Atlanta Braves slugger Drake Baldwin.<\/p>\n<p>Horton\u2019s impressive rookie campaign, however, was cut short due to injury. A rib issue forced the pitcher to miss Chicago\u2019s 2025 postseason run. Without the ace, the Cubs were eventually knocked out of the Fall Classic by the rival Milwaukee Brewers. Following the exit, it was revealed that team management felt that they were at least one starting pitcher short in the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs will now hope that Horton can remain healthy throughout the 2026 season, potentially including the playoffs. If so, The Athletic\u2019s Sahadev Sharma believes that the 24-year-old starter should compete for the Cy Young award. The reporter helped make the bold prediction by pointing towards Horton\u2019s improved strikeout rate towards the end of 2025. As Sharma notes, the pitcher\u2019s K rate was an impressive 26% during his final nine starts of his rookie campaign.<\/p>\n<p>So far this spring, Horton has maintained a solid strikeout rate in Arizona. In four appearances, the youngster has picked up 17 strikeouts against a total of 68 batters (25%). While he has endured a couple of subpar outings, Horton ended his preseason on a high note. The ace recently hurled six innings without giving up a run against the Brewers on March 22.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Chicago Cubs Coach Tells Cade Horton to Repeat Dominant Rookie Season<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5853057\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265883563-e1774368137374.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Cubs Youngster Expected to Compete for NL Cy Young\" width=\"782\" height=\"441\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5853057\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5853057\">GettyCade Horton will be key to Chicago\u2019s success in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>There were earlier suggestions that Horton could very well be the Cubs\u2019 opening-day starting pitcher in 2026. Nevertheless, manager Craig Counsell has opted to give Matthew Boyd the ball instead. Horton is expected to be the team\u2019s number two starter behind the lefty moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>Although there are high expectations surrounding Horton, Counsell has attempted to ease the pressure on the youngster. \u201cWe\u2019ve really stressed to Cade a slow, steady build-up for the season,\u201d Counsell told reporters in early March, as reported by Sharma. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s most important. He should have the feeling of he\u2019s got a lot of time. He feels great, he\u2019s in a great place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, the Cubs coach also asked Horton to repeat his impressive rookie season. \u201cHe dominated the league last year,\u201d Counsell continued. \u201cThere (weren\u2019t) many challenges when he was pitching. He was outstanding. Now it\u2019s: Do it again. Do it over a full season.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Chicago Looking for First Division Title in Six Years<\/h2>\n<p>Horton\u2019s biggest competition for the N.L. Cy Young is obviously Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Paul Skenes. The pitcher previously posted an impressive 2.43 ERA, along with a 1.00 WHIP, and 194 strikeouts in just 167 innings in 2025. The ace has only allowed one run in just over six innings of work during spring training.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs starter may not be able to supplant Skenes atop the National League pitchers list. He should, however, be in line to help Chicago compete for their first Central Division title since 2020. Assuming he can remain healthy, Horton could very well earn multiple votes for the Cy Young, even if he does not collect the trophy.<\/p>\n<p>Christopher Moore Christopher Moore has been a Heavy.com contributor since 2025. With over a decade of experience in the industry, he has published thousands of articles reporting on multiple professional sports. He was previously a sports writer for World Soccer Talk, the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and the Maryland Sports Blog. More about Christopher Moore<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is expected to take a major step forward in 2026. The youngster recently impressed in his rookie campaign, posting an 11-4&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever! - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever! - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is expected to take a major step forward in 2026. The youngster recently impressed in his rookie campaign, posting an 11-4...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-25T14:56:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121\",\"name\":\"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever! - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-25T14:56:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-25T14:56:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\",\"name\":\"XuanTan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"XuanTan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever! - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever! - NEWS USA","og_description":"Getty Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is expected to take a major step forward in 2026. The youngster recently impressed in his rookie campaign, posting an 11-4...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2026-03-25T14:56:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"XuanTan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"XuanTan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121","name":"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever! - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-25T14:56:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-25T14:56:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rinrin-10-9.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169121#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CUBS YOUNG GUN IS READY TO TAKE OVER! Their Breakout Youngster Is Now Expected to Battle for the NL Cy Young Award \u2013 This Is the Rise of a New Ace That Could Change Chicago\u2019s Future Forever!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06","name":"XuanTan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"XuanTan"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=169121"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169123,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169121\/revisions\/169123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/169122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=169121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=169121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=169121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}