Chicago Cubs Reportedly Calling Up Top Prospect Cade Horton For MLB Debut

Cade Horton, the top pitching prospect in the Chicago Cubs’ farm system, is expected to join the MLB roster for this weekend’s series against the New York Mets.

Mesa, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton throws against the San Diego Padres in the first inning at Sloan Park. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are expected to call up right-handed pitcher Cade Horton for their upcoming road series against the New York Mets, the Des Moines Register’s Tommy Birch reported Thursday afternoon.

Horton is currently ranked as the No. 2 prospect and No. 1 pitcher in the Cubs’ farm system. MLB Pipeline has him pegged as the No. 8 right-handed pitcher and No. 46 overall prospect in baseball.

The 23-year-old made two appearances in spring training, posting a 3.00 ERA, then opened 2025 with Triple-A Iowa. He went 2-1 with a 1.24 ERA, 0.862 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings through six starts leading up to his promotion.

I can confirm that Cade Horton, the top pitching prospect for the Chicago Cubs organization, is expected to join the team in New York for its upcoming series against the New York Mets.

— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) May 8, 2025

The Cubs selected Horton in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He ascended from Single-A to Double-A in 2023, then climbed to Triple-A by 2024.

In his minor league career, Horton is 8-6 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.029 WHIP and 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings across 36 starts.

Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd are slated to start Friday and Sunday, respectively, leaving Saturday open for Horton. Tylor Megill is projected to take the mound for the Mets that night.

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