NEW MONDAY MORNING CUBS SHOW HERE:
Cade Horton Blog:
The Monday Morning Cubs Show is now available and before I post a recap, I want to spend a specific blog on how much I love Cade Horton.
This is that blog.
There’s thousands of more detailed words at my fingertips and plenty of research to do on the guy. I also need a full statcast spread of data and metrics and analytics to back up my feelings. But for now I’m fairly comfortable hitting the big stuff on Cade Horton and why I think he’s so good. (I’ll do my best to keep this simple because I think it’s better.)
#1 Alpha Baseball Athleticism – There’s a lot of good players on the Cubs but nobody with his pedigree. Not even Dansby at Vanderbilt dominated the college game the way Cade Horton did taking Oklahoma to the CWS. And that’s in his blood pathologically. He’s an old school, flyover state talent that was born to dominate sports. With or without travel ball and showcases and HUDL highlights, this dude is throwing upper 90’s in the big leagues right now. He’s easily the most naturally gifted player on the Cubs active roster and that includes everyone.
Example: he’s probably our best defensive 3rd baseman right now. I know this sounds crazy but if he spent his off days playing 3rd and hitting 9th, I wouldn’t hate that nearly as much as some of the other jabroni sandwiches we’ve been served.
#2 Elite Arm Action – I talked a lot on the show last week and presumably today about the natural benefits in his his arm action. He should post an insane walk-to-strikeout ratio because of it. In practice, that means really nasty breaking stuff down in front of the plate but also an electric fastball at the top of the zone. He’s going to have natural cut to his glove side and consequently throw 89-92 mph sliders when it all comes together. It’s as much of a video game without being over-the-top because he still can’t throw a changeup and maybe that day never comes. But right now I think the arm action is so good and clean that you can be as excited as you want without sounding like a moron. If you watched him throw then you know it’s different.
Example: he looks like a shortstop on the mound. It reminds of me being 12 years-old and they have to bring in the best player to pitch at the end of the game to strike out 3 hitters in a row with the bases loaded. That’s the vibe I get when Cade Horton is warming up. He’s simply too good and should be doing something else with his time.
Finally for this blog…
#3 He’s Simply Different – get used to hearing about how unique Cade Horton is. How the computers have a hard time deciphering between his pitches and that the hitters are confused all the time about his fastball and how his breaking stuff is virtually unchartable…
Get ready to hear how hard it is to prepare for him because you don’t see Cade Hortons very often in professional baseball.
That’s probably my favorite thing about this guy. He’s so hard to hit because he doesn’t exist and when you see him, you don’t believe it until the game is over.
That’s my overall 30,000 foot approach to Cade Horton that is the #1 reason why I’m so high on him as an immediate difference maker for the Cubs. There’s almost no comparison for me to consider his potential against. The floor really is the ceiling and for the first time in my life, that MJ quote makes all the sense.
Now of course you don’t have to believe me. You could want Sandy or Pablo Lopez or some other righty with a proven track record of being mediocre at the biggest points in the year. That’s totally up to you.
For now that I just want it on record that I think Cade Horton is the best pitcher we could acquire this year and I have every expectation that he is on the mound for this club at the end of the year when it matters most.
Next start would be Friday 1:20 at home against the White Sox
For an extended conversation on Cade Horton…
Tune in to today’s Monday Morning Cubs Show with Mahoney