NEWSLETTER
So, things were not so great for the big league team last night, and thus I could not offer up some happy highlights on that front to brighten your morning. BUT! A trio of top Cubs prospects had great nights, so I thought maybe that would do the trick.
Top Cubs pitching prospect Cade Horton made his season debut, returning to Double-A Tennessee for the time being (despite absolutely dominating there last year to finish up his first pro season). Easing into the year, Horton threw 4.0 innings (53 pitches), allowing 1 ER on 4 H and 0 BB, with 4 K.
Whoooo boy. That pitch right there. Hitter had no chance, and may not have come within 12 inches of the ball.
The Cubs, I suspect, will continue to play it very carefully with Horton’s workload here in the early going, knowing that there is a CHANCE he will pitch his way into the big leagues at mid-year. If that were to happen, it would be because the Cubs are competing and believe he can help them down the stretch, so they’re not going to want to waste too many of his bullets in the minor leagues in the first half – only that which are necessary for getting into a rhythm and continuing to develop. I’m not sure when he’ll bump to Triple-A Iowa, but it’s always plausible that the Cubs don’t believe he’ll get a ton more development there, and could seek to “hide” him from the Statcast data available to all clubs at Triple-A. That’s just me wearing my tinfoil hat …
Sticking at Double-A Tennessee, Moises Ballesteros was not catching Horton last night – Pablo Aliendo was behind the plate – but he was DH’ing and raking. In the game, he walked, he doubled, and he hit his first Double-A homer:
Ballesteros, who is only 20, will go as far as his bat will carry him (which is highly likely to be the big leagues in a year or two). But his ceiling will depend on whether he can contribute defensive value or not. I am just not sure he’s going to be an everyday catcher type, and I’m also not sure he’s got the ideal size for first base. But if he could be part-time at those spots, and DH the rest of the time? That’s a very valuable player if the bat reaches the heights that it could.
As for how the Cubs, specifically, would accommodate that, well, it’s a question for another day. Right now, just let the young man keep raking and keep developing.
Speaking of particularly young Cubs prospects, the third guy who had a huge game last night was South Bend shortstop Jefferson Rojas:
Rojas, who still hasn’t quite yet turned 19(!), is coming off the heels of a breakout 2023 campaign that saw him effectively jump straight to full-season ball from the DSL, displace Cristian Hernández (an older, more-acclaimed prospect) from shortstop, and then more than hold his own offensively in a notoriously difficult hitters park. It was the kind of season that had you wondering if he might be one of “those” prospects, and now playing in his first cold-weather assignment, super young for the league, we might find out. The extremely early returns are good.
