Thursday, September 04

Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season.

CHICAGO – Back in Spring Training, Cubs manager Craig Counsell predicted that rookie Cade Horton would find his way to the big leagues and handle important innings this season. Horton’s arrival in May was quicker than anticipated, but the righty stepped in when Chicago had a need and has not looked back.

Now, as the Cubs head into September with postseason positioning on the line, Horton is an emerging Rookie of the Year candidate in the National League and will be taking the ball as a key piece to the team’s pitching staff.

“It means a lot,” Horton said. “But at the end of the day, you just have to go out there and shrink the moment down like it’s just another baseball game. It’s another outing. I feel like when you kind of make the moment bigger than what it is, that’s when things get out of hand. So, it’s just shrinking the moment and making it about one pitch.”

That is a mature mentality for a 24-year-old pitcher who has appeared in only 19 Major League games to date, but that has been a theme this year for Horton. Counsell has described the young righty as a “clear-headed competitor” similar to veteran starter Justin Steele.

Counsell said that is an impressive trait for a rookie.

“Absolutely. I think that’s probably why I’ve said it so many times,” Counsell said. “You kind of hear it from the other side once in a while. So, it’s kind of noticeable to the other team, too, kind of how he’s going about his business. And that’s a real credit to Cade.”

Since July 1, Horton has turned in a 1.34 ERA, which was second among qualified MLB pitchers in that span, trailing only Trevor Rogers (1.19 ERA) of the Orioles entering Sunday. For perspective, NL Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes has logged a 1.92 ERA in that same time period. Horton has allowed one or fewer runs in eight of his 10 starts in that stretch.

Those 10 starts are particularly notable, given that it is a run that immediately follows Horton’s rough road outing (seven runs in four innings) against the Astros on June 27. The righty was blunt in his self-assessment after that game and went to work on identifying what went wrong, including admitting to being caught up in the playoff-like environment.

“He quickly recognized, ‘I got out of my process,’” Cubs veteran Matthew Boyd said. “I’m sure it was very palpable in the moment. But in the next five days, the ability to course correct and have that honest conversation about, ‘This is what I did, this is what I wish I did, and this is how I can correct it going forward,’ we’re seeing the fruits of it. He’s just been on such a roll since.”

The Rookie of the Year field in the NL is crowded with no clear favorite at the moment, giving Horton a chance to further assert himself in that race.

In a recent MLB.com poll, Braves catcher Drake Baldwin garnered the most votes, but the Brewers have a few contenders in Isaac Collins, Caleb Durbin, Chad Patrick and Jacob Misiorowski. Jack Dreyer and Hyeseong Kim of the Dodgers are in the mix, along with a handful of others around the league.

If Horton stays on his current pace – the righty is currently 9-4 with a 2.92 ERA in 98 2/3 innings – he could continue to see his stock climb as the Cubs close in on a playoff berth.

“What he’s been able to do is so impressive,” Boyd said. “You throw in the fact that he’s a young pitcher on top of that and you go, ‘Wow, I wish I had the maturity that he has at that age.’ It took me multiple years to gain that maturity. He’s been integral for us. There’s no other way to say it. We wouldn’t be where we are without Cade.”

With one month left in the regular season, Boyd is currently 10-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 12 starts at Wrigley Field this season. Who currently holds the franchise’s single-season record for most wins in an undefeated showing at the Friendly Confines?

A. Rick Sutcliffe

B. Jake Arrieta

C. Fergie Jenkins

D. Kyle Hendricks

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• Dansby Swanson powers offense (2 HR, 1 3B, 6 RBIs) in win. Read more >>

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“I thought he might be tired. I was concerned. I thought he might be very tired. Those are fun plays for everybody. It’s like the ball goes up and – after you say the prayer, ‘Please stay in the park’ – you’re like, ‘Pete’s got a chance to catch it.’ No matter where it’s hit, Pete’s got a chance to catch it. I wasn’t sure he was going to catch [that one]. Usually, you kind of are, if it stays in the park, but that was a great play. And certainly one he covered a ton of ground.” – Counsell, on center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s running catch in the first inning on Friday

Long (No. 7 on Pipeline’s Top 30 list for the North Siders) recently set an Iowa Cubs franchise record (since data became available in 2005) with an on-base streak lasting 35 games. Well, the 23-year-old first baseman made it an even 40 games as of Saturday. You have to go back to July 8 to find the last game Long did not reach base. In the 40 games that have followed, he has piled up 44 hits with 30 walks and six hit-by-pitches to keep the streak going. Long hit .301/.435/.500 in that span with six homers, nine doubles and 30 RBIs.

A. Rick Sutcliffe

During his Cy Young Award-winning performance in 1984, Sutcliffe went 8-0 with a 2.77 ERA in nine outings at Wrigley Field. That is the current mark for most wins in a season for a Cubs pitcher with an undefeated ledger in one year. If Boyd can get through September without a loss at home, he will set a new record in the process.

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