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![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ctc-l-cubs-brewers-100925-47.jpg\")
Cubs first baseman Michael Busch connects for a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS on Oct. 9, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\nMESA, Ariz. \u2014 Cade Horton\u2019s vision for his next step forward as a big-league starting pitcher sounds simple.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs right-hander wants to repeat a 2025 performance that saw him record a 2.67 ERA in 118 innings to earn a second-place finish for the National League Rookie of the Year award.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot to prove,\u201d Horton, 24, said. \u201cFirst year, now guys have scouting report on me. They know my stuff, so it\u2019s just all about going out there and executing a pitch and giving my team a chance to win. \u2026 I felt like I ended the year in a good spot and so just being able to to go out there and really hammer down my routine and stay in the process, I think that\u2019s the biggest thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs managed Horton\u2019s workload during his rookie season, typically limiting him to 75-85 pitches per outing to account for his increase in innings from an injury-shortened 2024. Efficiency became a key part of Horton\u2019s mentality last year, often at the expense of strikeouts. He wanted to pound the zone and get balls in play. An increased strikeout rate could be part of the formula Horton taps into in Year 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that kind of framed Cade\u2019s first year was his adaptability,\u201d general manager Carter Hawkins told the Tribune on Thursday. \u201cHe changed his pitch mix, he added the sinker, he\u2019s fought through injuries, and I think if we gave him a challenge to get more swing and miss, he would do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s definitely got it in there, the stuff\u2019s in there. So there\u2019s definitely a possibility, and we\u2019ll take strikeouts. So, yeah, I think having that might open things up, but really it\u2019s just, how do we get outs?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Busch to get starts against lefties
\nCubs first baseman Michael Busch connects for a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS on Oct. 9, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
The next step in the first baseman\u2019s development will feature a fresh challenge for the 28-year-old lefty slugger.<\/p>\n
In his first two seasons with the Cubs, Busch made only 25 total starts against lefties while 195 of his 1,159 plate appearances in that span came with a left-hander on the mound. Those lack of looks versus southpaws will be changing this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plan against left-handed starters is going to be a big part of it,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said Thursday of Busch\u2019s development. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to ask for more for a lot of the rest of it. If you look at the numbers, it\u2019s pretty elite, right? But this has been a challenge for him, and I think he\u2019s ready for this challenge. He\u2019s going to get an opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018We\u2019re going to give him exposure to it. There\u2019s not as many at-bats in that world, period. But you want everyday players, it can affect roster construction, things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Busch struggled in his limited sample size last year off lefties, posting a .207\/.274\/.368 slash line with two doubles, four home runs, seven walks and 26 strikeouts. The Cubs also have right-handed-hitting Tyler Austin, whom Counsell considers primarily a first baseman, describing him Thursday as a contingency in the outfield. Austin\u2019s presence gives the Cubs security if Busch\u2019s opportunities against left-handers don\u2019t trend well.<\/p>\n
Outfield competition still taking shape<\/p>\n
Barring injuries, the Cubs know who their eight starting position players in the field will be entering the season.<\/p>\n
One of the main camp roster battles centers on their backup outfielder options. Although the Cubs\u2019 first full-squad workout isn\u2019t until Monday, most of their position players, both on the 40-man roster and nonroster invitees, are already in camp.<\/p>\n
Wading through roster machinations for their fourth-outfielder spot isn\u2019t a conversation Counsell is ready for quite yet. He will have plenty of options, however, including Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara and Justin Dean plus NRIs Chas McCormick and Dylan Carlson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not really making a lot of evaluations there at this point,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cWe have a couple roster guys, some nonroster guys \u2014 there\u2019s a lot of things we\u2019ve got to figure out, like Matt Shaw and that situation I think that matters to this scenario and what the roster looks like. So, I don\u2019t want to even make any judgments there. I want to be very open about that, and essentially there\u2019s a backup catcher, and that\u2019s all I know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MESA, Ariz. \u2014 Cade Horton\u2019s vision for his next step forward as a big-league starting pitcher sounds simple.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,735,12679,9280,138,24,4245,576,161,590,39236,9675,37,4,151,7115],"class_list":{"0":"post-575190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cade-horton","10":"tag-carter-hawkins","11":"tag-chas-mccormick","12":"tag-chicago","13":"tag-chicago-cubs","14":"tag-chicagocubs","15":"tag-craig-counsell","16":"tag-cubs","17":"tag-dylan-carlson","18":"tag-justin-dean","19":"tag-kevin-alcantara","20":"tag-michael-busch","21":"tag-mlb","22":"tag-spring-training","23":"tag-tyler-austin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116079078658505021","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}