The Chicago Cubs have been one of the most exciting teams in the league this year, that’s a FACT! Their offense, which currently ranks second in the league in runs scored (as of writing this), has been operating on all cylinders since the start of the season. They’ve looked unstoppable, even with the problems they’ve had with the pitching staff.

It has been a rough road, with the likes of Justin Steele (elbow) and Shota Imanaga (hamstring) being placed on the IL. But with the Japanese sensation coming off of a rather stellar rehab outing, and his return to the rotation being imminent;

Shota Imanaga in his rehab start on Saturday:

4.0 IP | 4 K | 0 R | 0 BB

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 14, 2025

The question that arises is……what do they do with Cade Horton? Where do they go from here? Do they move the 23-year old to the pen, or back to the minors, to make room for their ace? Or do they keep him in the rotation, and figure out another route to take with this staff?

Horton, for those of you who are unaware, has had a rather successful tenure for a rookie so far this season. Through seven games played at the big-league level, the Oklahoma City product has posted an impressive stat-line consisting of;

3-1 Record, 3.47 ERA, 29 Ks, 1.21 WHIP

He has been steadily getting better with every start. Yes, his worst outing was against the Detroit Tigers, where Horton allowed four runs on seven hits through five innings pitched. But his best start? It had to be against the Pittsburgh Pirates this past Friday, where he basically matched the great Paul Skenes’ performance through the same amount of innings.

Not only that……his “stuff” has also been rather NASTY, and just keeps getting NASTIER! I mean, just look at this sweeper that he threw in an at-bat against the Pirates’ Henry Davis…

Cade Horton, Wicked 85mph Sweeper. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/nrDnIJ48sd

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 13, 2025

Or this curve, where the floor dropped INSTANTANEOUSLY near the very end of it’s travel.

Cade Horton, 86mph Hammer. 🔨 pic.twitter.com/GLaxeSyqdA

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 13, 2025

He is the personification of FILTH, and he is only getting FILTHIER. That is why, at this point…..I feel like you have to keep him in the bigs. I feel like even with Imanaga coming back, Horton has done more than enough to secure his spot in the starting rotation. Sure, he still has some work to do when it comes to his development. But if Counsell and co. were to move on from him now…..it would just be a slap in the face for him, and the rest of the team.

If anything, if they need to move on from someone……move on from Ben Brown. I love the guy, don’t get me wrong. I feel like he has what it takes to become a big-name arm in this league. But he has some work to do, and he shouldn’t be “working out the kinks” as a starter. His starts have been all over the place, and his consistency is just not there.

If the team wants to continue to operate with a five-arm rotation, then they need to move Brown to the pen and let him fix his game with a smaller workload. Let the kid figure his stuff out, so that he’s not focused with the pressure that comes with being a starter.

Will the team listen to me? Probably not. But out of ANYTHING…..I just hope that the keep Cade where he is. The guy is on his way to being a star. Let him keep cooking.

But in the end, as always…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.