\n<\/p>\n
Cade Horton<\/b> is on a roll.<\/p>\n
But just because the rookie right-hander hasn\u2019t allowed a run in his last three starts doesn\u2019t mean the Cubs are shying away from their strategy to manage the 23-year-old\u2019s innings as he ventures deeper into his first season in the big leagues.<\/p>\n
Horton was cruising Friday but was done after five scoreless innings. The Cubs made the choice to bring an end to Horton\u2019s outing after two trips through the Orioles\u2019 order. Thanks to a blustery day at Wrigley Field and a rested, reinforced bullpen, the Cubs came away with a 1-0 win in their first game after the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019re going to keep an eye on with Cade, for sure,\u201d manager Craig Counsell<\/b> said after the game. \u201cWhen there\u2019s opportunities and moments to do [shorten his outings], we\u2019re going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether shorter starts become the norm for the rookie as the Cubs try to preserve him for present and future championship chases remains to be seen. Horton is now past 100 innings on his season, combined between the big league team and a handful of starts at Triple-A Iowa. That well eclipses the 34\u2153 innings he threw in 2024 and the 88\u2153 innings he threw in 2023.<\/p>\n
But as that innings total grows, Horton keeps turning in stellar showings. He\u2019s held the opposition scoreless in four of his last five starts and has a 1.26 ERA since the beginning of July.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a learner,\u201d catcher Carson Kelly<\/b> said. \u201cHe continues to learn and get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horton settling into the role of a dependable major league starter is critical to a Cubs team that didn\u2019t make a big starting-pitching splash at the trade deadline. Without an added top-of-the-rotation arm, it\u2019s on Horton, Shota Imanaga<\/b>, Matthew Boyd<\/b> and Jameson Taillon<\/b> to mold into a healthy group capable of handling playoff-level competition.<\/p>\n
The Cubs keep discussing a strength of Horton\u2019s that ought to prove useful in doing just that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very clear-headed out there, very focused and doesn\u2019t let anything distract him from the next pitch. That\u2019s a very simple approach, but it\u2019s an advanced approach,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cFor a young player, when you put him into a new environment, you\u2019ve got a lot of extra stuff going around. Cade seems to be able to avoid all that, block it out and just concentrate on the task at hand. That leads to continued success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moises Ballesteros<\/b>\u2019 latest visit to the major leagues was again a brief one.<\/p>\n
Just two days after he was called up, the organization\u2019s No. 2 prospect was sent back to Triple-A Iowa \u2014 as was righty pitcher Gavin Hollowell<\/b> \u2014 as the Cubs added their trade-deadline acquisitions to the active roster ahead of Friday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
Ballesteros has terrific numbers with Iowa, owning a .332\/.393\/.496 slash line with nine homers in 86 games.<\/p>\n
But the Cubs don\u2019t seem keen on bringing him \u2014 or any thriving minor leaguer, for that matter \u2014 up for an elongated stay without a full-time job waiting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure that there\u2019s opportunities there,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cBringing [a player up from the minors] \u2014 let\u2019s use Moises as an example \u2014 and having him not play or get one at-bat in five days, we\u2019re going to lose the effectiveness of that player.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d rather have him playing [every day] for when opportunities present themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n