CHICAGO — Cade Horton’s rookie campaign helped elevate the Cubs back to the playoffs in 2025.

It wasn’t enough for him to claim a prestigious honor, though.

Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin was named the Jackie Robinson NL Rookie of the Year, as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America, on Monday night. He edged out Horton and Milwaukee Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin for the award. Baldwin had 183 total votes (21 first place votes) and Horton had 139 votes (nine first place votes).

Baldwin posted a 3.3 bWAR season in 124 games, hitting .274 with 19 home runs, 80 RBI and an .810 OPS. He is the third Brave to win the Award in the last eight seasons, joining outfielders Ronald Acuña Jr. (2018) and Michael Harris II (2022). He is the first backstop to win the award since Buster Posey did so in 2010.

Horton put himself into the mix for the award on the backs of a dominant finish to 2025. Horton had a 1.36 ERA across his final 14 starts in 73 innings. He had four quality starts in that span and pitched into the sixth inning nine times even while the team was managing his pitch count and workload.

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He had that dominant stretch at a time when the Cubs absolutely needed it. The Cubs lost Justin Steele to a season-ending surgery in April, injuries limited Jameson Taillon to just 23 starts and Shota Imanaga had a hamstring injury that meant he made only 25 starts and struggled mightily down the stretch. Michael Soroka, their big addition at the trade deadline, threw two innings before succumbing to injury.

All really awesome exciting young players! But Cade literally carried our staff in the 2nd half during a playoff push/race. Also- WAR isn’t a perfect stat, especially for pitchers! It tells a good piece of the story. But it’s not everything!

— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) November 4, 2025

Horton was the ace for the Cubs at that crucial time, helping them secure a playoff spot and homefield advantage in the three-game NL Wild Card – and did so while being slightly constrained.

The Cubs wanted to protect their 2022 first round pick, keeping him on pitch counts for much of August and September, hoping to preserve his arm for a playoff run and for the rest of his career.

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He had, after all, never pitched more than 100 innings in a season in his collegiate or professional career. Horton’s career-high came in 2023, when he tossed 88.1 innings across Single-A, High-A and Double-A. A lat injury in 2024 limited him to just 34.1 innings.

But the injury bug still caught up to him in 2025.

On. Sept. 23, Horton exited the game with back discomfort after tossing three innings of one-run ball against the Mets in what turned out to be his final outing of the season.

It was later revealed he had a rib fracture and tried to pitch through it, hoping to take the mound in the postseason for the Cubs. He threw bullpen sessions during the Cubs’ run to Game 5 of the NL Division Series but never appeared in the playoffs for the Cubs.

“I think it fuels [the offseason work] a lot,” Horton said at the end of the season. “Just the way it ended, I feel like it wasn’t supposed to end this way. Just go into the offseason ready to show up for spring training and go play another 162.”

He’ll enter 2026 with the expectation being at the forefront of a Cubs rotation that hopes to return to October baseball for the first time in consecutive seasons since 2018 – even if he won’t do so as the Rookie of the Year. 

“I feel like I learned how to handle adversity in the big leagues,” Horton said. “I learned how to handle success in the big leagues. Just really how long of a season it is and really just focusing on the moments and taking in the moments and enjoying it.”