Hidden Gems: 6 Underrated MLB Players Poised to Ignite a Surprising Playoff Surge

Hidden Gems: 6 Underrated MLB Players Poised to Ignite a Surprising Playoff Surge

Cade Horton, SP, Cubs

The Cubs have been working overtime to hold their rotation together all year. Other teams have more high-profile pitchers on the injured list, but the Cubs are the ones still leading with ace Matthew Boyd, which one has to assume wasn’t part of their original plan. Even as they get Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon back, we can’t minimize the role Horton could play in the final weeks of the regular season.

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Horton didn’t get off to a great start, but as he’s figured out how to limit hard contact — now that it’s clear he won’t be averaging over a strikeout per inning at the MLB level in 2025 — he’s really starting to come into his own. The 23-year-old came into his Wednesday night start against the Blue Jays with a 1.05 ERA since July 1 and a scoreless streak he’d run up to 23 1/3 innings. That scoreless streak hit 29 innings before he gave up a run in a 4-1 Chicago victory. At this point, the Cubs really can’t burden themselves with what the Brewers are doing outside of their final five head-to-head games — there’s basically no recourse for a miraculous hot streak. All they can do is to get themselves back in fighting form, playing their best baseball, and a good way to do that is to get your rotation back into a steady rhythm. Horton’s certainly doing his part. —Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, MLB.com

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