This 1 thing is stopping top Cubs pitching prospect Cade Horton from getting the call

Cade Horton has been a name that Chicago Cubs fans have been excited about since he was drafted in the first round out of the University of Oklahoma in 2023. He helped lead the Sooners to a College World Series appearance and was rewarded for his efforts in that summer's MLB Draft.

Horton flew through the Cubs' minor league system, and it looked as if 2024 would finally be the year Horton received the call to make his major league debut. Unfortunately, things did not work out that way for Horton and the Cubs

The prized pitching prospect suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him after just five starts at Triple-A Iowa and caused him to miss the rest of the 2024 season. What initially looked like a dream season for the right-hander quickly became a nightmare and a season to forget.

Now, after an offseason completely focused on getting healthy and returning to form, Horton is once again knocking on the door to the major leagues and it feels like a near-certainty that we will see the former first-round pick take the mound at Wrigley Field in 2025.

Through four starts at Iowa, Horton is 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA and 23 strikeouts across 17 innings. In his most recent outing on April 23, Horton went 4 2/3 scoreless innings with just one walk and five strikeouts.

There is one small area of concern for Horton and that is his high volume of walks. We mentioned the 23 strikeouts in 17 innings, but Horton also has 11 walks. He has three starts with three or more walks, something that will certainly have to be fixed before he is promoted to the major leagues.

Cubs need Cade Horton to build up a minor league workload in 2025

Speaking of that promotion, many may be curious as to what that looks like and what more Horton will need to do before he makes his major league debut. Cleaning up the walks is certainly an area that will need to be improved. But that's not what will give the front office the most pause.

Making sure that Horton is 100 percent healthy is Jed Hoyer's top priority. He has only pitched 17 innings, so he will likely need to get into the 60-70 innings pitched range before the Cubs feel comfortable with adding him to the 26-man roster for his big-league debut.

Whenever the time comes, Horton's debut will mark one of the most hyped arrivals of a Cubs pitching prospect in years. Here's to hoping that Horton is on the mound and pitching meaningful innings for Chicago at the end of the 2025 season with the postseason picture coming into focus.