Ranking the 5 Chicago Cubs players most likely to have a breakout season

As the Chicago Cubs look to meaningfully compete this year, several young players are poised to take a step forward in 2025.

The front office and team President Jed Hoyer will likely give these young players a lot of runway in 2025 as they hope for the first playoff run since 2020.

5. Cade Horton

Although he was sidelined for much of 2024 with a shoulder injury, right-hander Cade Horton is primed to come back with a vengeance in 2025. The former Sooner is the top pitching prospect in the Cubs' organization thanks to his elite slider and fastball combo. These pitches have helped Horton reach the Triple-A level and strike out batters at a 33.5% clip across 88.1 innings in 2023.

With the injury behind him, Horton has looked sharp this Spring as the 23-year-old makes his case for a big-league call-up. Staying healthy has been the biggest challenge of his college and professional career, but he will likely make an appearance at Wrigley this year if he stays off the injured list. Even if he is limited to a bullpen role, the Cubs would greatly benefit from Horton's talents and there is a good chance he stays on the active roster after his debut.

4. RHP Daniel Palencia

Reliever Daniel Palencia has been a breakout candidate for years at this point, but it always feels like he is very close to figuring things out. Regardless of anything, Palencia's blazing fastball, which regularly touches 100 mph during his outings, and his wicked slider are two plus pitches that give the 25-year-old huge potential.

Like many relievers in the Cubs' system, Palencia hasn't quite figured out how to improve his control yet. A lot of his outings are either boom, bust, or a little bit of both with a lot of strikeouts and walks (17.4 walk rate in 2024). With two minor league options remaining on his contract, Palencia will most likely start the season in Triple-A where he will be one of the main depth pieces for the Major League bullpen.

If Palencia can learn to locate his fastball better and decrease the walk rate, he has immense potential as a setup man or even a closer.