Top Cubs Pitching Prospect Cade Horton Being Promoted to Double-A Tennessee – Bleacher Nation

Dude has a rocket ship strapped to his back.

Cubs 2022 first round pick Cade Horton is already getting the bump to Double-A Tennessee:

Horton, 21, already received one in-season promotion this year, after making his debut at Low-A Myrtle Beach. The nasty right-handed and newly-consensus top-50 prospect dominated through four starts at Low-A that he got the quick promotion to High-A South Bend, where he similarly started dominating by the end of his 47.0 innings there.

The Cubs are probably managing Horton’s innings carefully in this, his pro debut season, especially given how little he pitched in college following Tommy John surgery. But they also clearly want to see him get challenged before the offseason. This is one of those later-season promotions that, as long as he stays healthy, is relatively win-win: if he struggles, that’s not particularly concerning for a guy reaching Double-A in his first pro season, and it’ll show him some things he needs to focus on after the season. If he adjusts quickly and keeps dominating, well, then it tells you a lot about his potential trajectory for 2024.

It’s crazy how quickly it has happened, but Horton is putting himself on the big league radar very quickly. Maybe not late this year, but sometime next season? It is now in the realm of possibility.

On the year so far between Low-A and High-A, Horton has a 3.23 ERA over 61.1 innings, while striking out a whopping 35.8% of the batters he’s faced, and walking just 6.7%.