Chicago Cubs Lineup (3/21/25): Horton Starting, Hoerner at 2B as Cubs Play First Game Back

The Cubs are back in the US of A to play out the string on spring with five more games that don’t matter, including two against the Braves in a rare Arizona appearance. Things are going to be a little slow here at Cubs Insider for the next few days because I’ll actually be out in Mesa for the weekend to get my baseball fix and a little ink therapy. Between that and the NCAA tournament being in full swing, it’s hard to be too excited about more exhibition contests after the Tokyo Series.

Though the losses to the Dodgers in Japan don’t count any more than any others the Cubs will suffer this season, stewing over them for a week can’t be fun. There were several positive takeaways in spite of the results, however, so the Cubs do have some things to build on. We usually see more regular lineups and pitching usage as spring winds down, but Craig Counsell has all backups in there save for one spot.

Cade Horton is on the bump for the second time in an official Cactus League game and this will be his first start in that capacity. He started the Cubs’ Spring Breakout game against the Angels’ top prospects, but that apparently doesn’t count. The hard-throwing righty worked two innings, striking out three with one run allowed on two hits and no walks. This should be a fun watch for fans who’ve seen very little of the team’s top pitching prospect to this point.

Vidal Bruján leads off at short this afternoon, followed by Nico Hoerner making his first appearance in a big league spring game at second base. Gage Workman is at third, Kevin Alcantara is in center, Moises Ballesteros is behind the plate, and Jonathon Long is at first. Christian Franklin handles left, Greg Allen is in right, and Haydn McGeary is the DH.

They’re up against righty Michael King, who was involved in a flurry of trade rumors earlier in the offseason. Not as sexy or expensive as Dylan Cease, King pitched very well last season in his first campaign as a full-time starter. The Padres are holding onto both players for the time being, with Cease standing out as a more likely trade piece because he is far less likely to sign an extension. While King did ink a deal that carries a $15 million mutual option for 2026, that was really just built in as a vehicle to push just under half of his $7.75 million guarantee into the future.

The Cubs were mainly interested in King because he would give Jed Hoyer another starting pitcher who throws 92-93 mph. That’s where King’s sinker sits, though the four-seam he throws just a little less frequently sits closer to 94 mph. Practically a flamethrower compared to most of the Cubs’ current rotation, with Ben Brown shaking things up as the presumed fifth starter for the time being.

This will be King’s fourth Cactus League start and he figures to go 75-80 pitches or so in what should be his last action before the regular season begins. The Cubs should see the full array of his balanced repertoire, of which the changeup he throws a quarter of the time really stands out. With action very similar to his sinker, just with a little more depth, the firm 87 mph offspeed pitch ranked in the 96th percentile with a run value of 9 last year.

King also has a sweeper and slider that generate almost identical vertical break, but the slider is firmer and doesn’t have nearly as much horizontal movement. Everything but the fastball works right along the zero line in terms of v-break, allowing King to fool hitters with inside-outside variation. That keeps his splits very even, with left-handed hitters carrying only a minuscule edge in wOBA (.288 to .284).

Though he doesn’t necessarily fill up the zone, King gets a lot of chases due to the aforementioned pitch mix and sequencing. He generates a ton of grounders and keeps the ball in the yard, so the key to beating his is often simply to be patient and string together a few hits and walks. He allowed 207 of them combined in 173.2 innings last season, with just 17 homers surrendered. If he’s on, it could be a tough task for a travel-weary lineup.

First pitch is at 3:05pm CT on Marquee and MLB audio.

Back at @SloanParkMesa today.

Watch today’s game on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/BFQL0KCqEp

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 21, 2025