This news was expected, and today, Major League Baseball made it official. Cubs right-hander Cade Horton is a National League Rookie of the Year “finalist”:
Just to make it clear: There isn’t another election. The “finalists” are simply the players who were the top three vote-getters in the award voting that was completed when the 2025 regular season ended.
Horton had a very good rookie season for the Cubs, going 11-4 in 23 games (22 starts) with a 2.67 ERA and 1.085 WHIP. But where he really shined was over his last 12 starts, where he posted a 1.03 ERA and 0.783 WHIP in 61.1 innings, with just three home runs allowed over that span.
Drake Baldwin posted a 3.3 bWAR season for the Braves, batting .274/.341/.469 with 19 home runs in 124 games. He didn’t do as well behind the plate — the 88 steals off him were the most of any catcher in the NL and he threw out only 13.7 percent of runners trying to steal.
Caleb Durbin batted .256/.334/.387 with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 136 games for the Brewers in 2025, and played a good third base for them. That season was worth 2.9 bWAR.
Horton’s 2025 season posted just 2.0 bWAR, but that spectacular 12-start run might have gotten the award voters’ notice. This could be a fairly close vote.
The Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year awards will be announced next Monday, Nov. 10 in a live broadcast on MLB Network at 6 p.m. CT.
