With Opening Day fast approaching for the Chicago Cubs, manager Craig Counsel has yet to make his decision on who will start game one. Last season, the Cubs leaned on Shota Imanaga to start against the Los Angeles Dodgers when they kicked off the season in Japan. Imanaga likely won’t earn that honor this season, so who could we see start against the Washington Nationals on March 26^th? Counsel has two strong candidates to consider.

The case for Cade Horton:

Horton made his rookie debut in the big leagues last May, and he never looked back.  The now 24-year-old finished his rookie season with a record of 11-4 while posting a 2.67 ERA in 23 games. The right-hander struck out 97 batters while walking just 33, which was good for a 2.94 K/BB ratio. What was most impressive about Horton was that he kept getting better as the season went on, putting together one of the best second halves in baseball last year. He made 12 starts post-All-Star break and surrendered just a 1.03 ERA, which led the majors. His efforts were rewarded by being named the runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year.

The case for Matthew Boyd:

Boyd put together a career year in his first season with the Cubs in 2025. The left-hander was the Cubs’ workhorse as he started 31 games and threw 179.2 innings, both of which led the team. Boyd won a career-high 14 games in which he posted a 3.21 ERA with 154 strikeouts, which were the most since he struck out 238 batters in 2019. All of this culminated in Boyd being named an All-Star for the first time in his career. The 35-year old pitched well in the postseason as well, aside from the game he started on short rest. In the two games Boyd started on regular rest, he pitched a total of 9 innings while allowing one earned run with eight strikeouts.

The verdict:

Looking at last season alone, both pitchers bring excellent resumes to the table to be an Opening Day starter. For Counsel, it could come down to whether he favors going with the young, talented Horton or the more experienced, reliable Boyd. Boyd has already made two Opening Day starts in his career for the Detroit Tigers back in 2020 and 2021. Based on that, Counsel should stick with Boyd’s experience and name him the Opening Day starter against the Nationals. Horton is deserving as anyone, but if he continues to progress and pitch the way he did last season, he will get his chance to be an Opening Day starter in the near future.