Devastating Shota Imanaga injury clears the way for heralded Cubs prospect

In what has been an impressive season, Sundays continue to be a weird Achilles' heel for the Chicago Cubs. And this Sunday, it wasn’t just that Craig Counsell’s squad suffered a loss to his former team. The 4-0 loss was secondary to the loss of starting pitcher Shota Imanaga.

Imanaga exited his latest outing in the sixth inning with a strained left hamstring injury. The strain is bad enough that the Cubs are scheduling an MRI as we speak to make sure it’s not a worse tear than it appears. Even if it is just a strain, the hurler will likely be put on the IL and miss at least one start. And while that’s a big negative for a team on a heck of a run, it does offer an opportunity for one of Chicago’s top prospects.

Cade Horton, who has been working his way back from his own injury this year, has been playing well enough that it is only a matter of time before he is called up to the Chicago Cubs. One barrier standing in his way is that there wasn’t a spot in the rotation for him. That’s no longer an issue.

Shota Imanaga's injury may signal Cade Horton's Major League debut

The Cubs are already dealing with one fill-in starter, Colin Rea, for Justin Steele. The other options to slide in for Imanaga, such as Jordan Wicks or Keegan Thompson, simply haven’t been pitching well enough to give anyone confidence they can indeed step in, especially if Imanaga’s hamstring is a lingering issue.

Meanwhile, Horton seems to have shown that he’s healthy and stretched out. His ability to eat innings was another thing that might have kept him in Iowa as long as it has; however, Horton’s last start on Saturday went 6 innings, his longest outing of the season.

In those 6 innings, Horton allowed just 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 5. On the season, he’s now 2-1 with a sparkling 1.17 earned run average and 28 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.

Cade Horton seems to have proven he’s too good for Triple-A, and he has the arm strength to go deep into games. At this point, it would be a bit of a shock if the Chicago Cubs do not call him up in the next day or two.