All appropriate applause here, but this is no surprise: Chicago Cubs righty Cade Horton is one of three finalists for the National League Rookie of the Year honors thanks to his brilliant 2025 campaign. These were the three generally expected to be finalists, with the only question whether the Brewers would get Isaac Collins or Caleb Durbin in there: Your 2025 @officialBBWAA NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award finalists:Drake BaldwinCaleb DurbinCade Horton pic.twitter.com/TQqqOcsdzX— MLB (@MLB) November 3, 2025 Over 23 games and 118.0 innings, Cade Horton posted a 2.67 ERA, the fifth best mark among ALL pitchers in the NL with at least 100.0 innings pitched. The next closest rookie was Brewers righty Chad Patrick, whose ERA was nearly a run higher. Horton was in a league of his own in that respect. The peripherals weren’t quite as strong – 20.4% K, 6.9% BB, 10.0% barrel, 41.2% hard, 42.3% groundball, 2.2 WAR – and that may ultimately be a differentiator for any voters who are looking for a reason not to choose a pitcher. That, plus the relatively shorter duration of his contributions to the Cubs, compared to the other two finalists, who were both closer to full-season position players. Caleb Durbin hit .256/.334/.387/105 wRC+ on the season over 506 plate appearances. He ran the bases well, and played solid defense at third base (chipping in at second and shortstop, too). He was worth 2.6 WAR. Drake Baldwin, who is probably the favorite, hit .274/.341/.469/125 wRC+ over 446 plate appearances. He did that as a rookie catcher, handling the job well, and posting a 3.1 WAR. Baldwin has some strong counting stats, too, and the fact that he was doing it while catching is probably going to get him some extra love. I would understand him getting the votes over Horton, though I think Durbin is a tougher sell. I bet he actually split some votes with Collins. So, in all likelihood, this is coming down to Baldwin and Horton. Because Horton was not up early enough in the season, he cannot qualify the Cubs for a Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick (the Cubs weren’t artificially holding him back, though – it is just the way his natural development arc played out, thanks mostly to last year’s injury). Horton, himself, can get a little boost, though, if he finishes in the top two of the voting: he’ll get a full year of service time for this season, rather than just the partial year.
