A critically important Cubs pitcher is finally getting national recognition

It is no surprise that the Chicago Cubs are in one of their worst stretches of the season. After entering the All-Star break 18 games above .500, Chicago is just 8-11 since that time and have fallen 6 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central.

One bright spot, though, during the poor stretch has been the emergence of right-hander and former top prospect, Cade Horton. Horton's big league debut felt imminent in the early parts of the season, and he has not looked back since making his MLB debut May 10 against the New York Mets.

Horton has continued to turn in solid outings since his debut and has begun to receive a bit of attention from the national media. In a piece written by Brian Murphy of MLB.com, Horton was listed as one of nine under-the-radar players who have stepped up and performed at a high level this season.

"Thus, the Cubs need everything Horton can give them, and the rookie righty has given them a lot recently," Murphy wrote. "The former Top 100 prospect has posted a 1.05 ERA over six starts (34 1/3 innings) since the beginning of July. And after another stellar outing Wednesday, Horton is riding a streak of 23 1/3 scoreless innings. That's the longest by a Cubs rookie pitcher, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, besting Kerry Wood's 21 consecutive zeroes during his 1998 NL ROY campaign."

Horton's scoreless streak dates back to the fourth inning of his July 9 start against the Minnesota Twins. Horton left that start with a season ERA of 4.45, but that has since been lowered to 3.18 over his last four starts.

Cade Horton has hit his stride when the Cubs needed him most

Home-road splits have been a bit of a concern for Horton this season. His 5.19 road ERA compared to his 1.61 home ERA is a bit worrisome, but his most recent road outing against the Chicago White Sox cooled those talks down for the time being.

Horton's next start will be a road start on Wednesday when he goes up against one of MLB's hottest teams in the Toronto Blue Jays. Finding a way to shut down an offense that ranks top five in nearly every offensive category is going to be quite the task for the young right-hander.

If Horton can continue his scoreless streak during his outing in Toronto, the attention from national media will only continue to grow. The Cubs will need their young right-hander to maintain a certain level of success if they have any hopes of making a deep postseason run.

Horton has all the makings of being the same kind of importance piece to a postseason rotation that the beloved Kyle Hendricks was to the 2016 World Series winning roster.