Cade Horton's Case For NL Rookie of the Year

The Chicago Cubs could easily have this year's Rookie of the Year on the mound- starting pitcher Cade Horton. Horton has been the saving grace of their pitching staff to say the least. The staff was riddled with injuries this season and Horton stepped up in a big way.

Last year's NL Rookie of the Year award went to Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh PIrates, who had a story book season. Skenes had 23 starts last season and went 11-3 with an ERA under 2.00 (1.96), which was the lowest for a rookie in the live-ball era (minimum of 20 starts).

By the time the year was finished he had 170 strikeouts which set a rookie record for the franchise. Skenes was rightfully a finalist for the Cy Young award and even though Horton doesn't have quite the numbers that Skenes did last year, he is still having an incredible year, especially since the All-Star Break.

Horton this Season

Horton getting ready to release a pitch in a grey uniform with a blue ha — Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

In Horton's defense, he has had a significant amount of time less than what Skenes had last year. He has been on a strict pitch count which means he has less balls thrown and less innings pitched than what last year's NL rookie had. Nonetheless he's been incredible for the Cubs.

There are only nine starting pitchers (rookies) in all of baseball that have at least 20 starts this season and Horton has by far the best ERA (2.66). There is only one other pitcher in that group who has an ERA under 3.00 and that is Noah Cameron of the Kansas City Royals. Horton has the upper hand in wins (11-4) while Cameron is 8-7 on the year.

As Horton continues to pull his ERA down, it will be nearly impossible to catch him in that aspect. In his last seven starts he is 5-1 with an ERA of 1.51. Even though he has yet to reach 100 strikeouts on the year (95) it is fair to assume he will get there before the clock on September winds down. The Cubs' pitcher has had six in two of his last three starts.

MORE: Wild Stat Comparison Shows Just How Ridiculous Cubs Rookie Cade Horton's Current Run Has Been

Cade Horton of the @Cubs is 8-1 over his last 11 starts. He has allowed just 6 total runs over that span.

In the modern era, the only other MLB pitcher to have 8+ wins & 6 or fewer runs allowed over an 11-start span in a single season was Bob Gibson in 1968. pic.twitter.com/gbQchSu5WX
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 17, 2025

The Cubs needed someone to compliment Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga as their pitching staff became victims to the injured list. They lost Justin Steele for the season and Jameson Taillon has spent a significant portion on the list in the second half.

Horton has been more than just a compliment as he has emerged as a potential game one starter for the postseason. It would be hard to imagine he hasn't earned the NL Rookie of the Year title.

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