Chicago Cubs Superstar Pitching Prospect 'Ready To Go' After Season-Ending Injury

One of the Chicago Cubs start prospects says he's ready for the spring after he suffered a season-ending injury last year.

Cade Horton makes a practice pitch before the South Bend Cubs vs. Fort Qayne TinCaps game at Four Winds Feild in South Bend on June 22, 2023. | MATTIE NERETIN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pitching was a main topic for the Chicago Cubs this winter, and that likely continues into the season.

Knowing they had to overhaul their bullpen, the front office did a good job of bringing in upgrades through trades and low-risk free agency signings. The starting rotation was also an area they wanted to upgrade, but they never were in on the top-of-the-market arms and missed on Roki Sasaki.

Instead, they signed Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea, the latter of whom could be a swingman.

Perhaps the Cubs wouldn't have felt a need to search for starting pitching help if their superstar prospect Cade Horton hadn't suffered a season-ending injury last year.

Ranked No. 3 in their pipeline, the right-hander has ace-caliber upside, something that was on display in 2023 when he posted a 2.65 ERA in 21 starts across three different levels of minor league ball after being taken seventh overall in the 2022 draft.

The hope was he would continue to climb the farm system this past season, putting himself in a good spot to make his debut in 2025, however, when he strained a muscle in his right shoulder in May, he eventually was placed on the 60-day injured list that ended his campaign after just nine outings.

But, Horton is now ready to get his career back on track.

"That's the blessing about missing the rest of the year. I'm feeling good and ready to go," he said per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

This is a huge development for Chicago.

While Horton likely begins the year at the Triple-A level where he could be slow-played to make sure he's truly healthy, having a good showing in the first half of the season might have him in the mix for a midsummer call up.

The Cubs view him as a starting prospect and a potential ace of their future, but with a full rotation right now and other depth options also present, there's a chance he could be used as a reliever at the beginning.

That doesn't matter to Horton, though.

He's just looking for a way to help this team win.

"I’m just wanting to find a seat on the plane and help my team win. That's my job at the end of the day -- to go out there and get outs. Whether that be in the bullpen, whether that be starting, it really doesn't matter to me. I just want to help the Chicago Cubs win. That's my goal," Horton added.

Whether that comes in 2025 will be seen, but having the star prospect healthy and ready for a normal load during the spring gives Chicago another pitching weapon.