Mets have heard about, and are prepared for, Cubs pitching prospect Cade Horton

Yes, Carlos Mendoza acknowledged, the likelihood that Cade Horton was going to make his Major League debut against the Mets was pretty good.

Technology has removed some of the mystery surrounding the No. 46 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s list, Mendoza noted. But in the next breath, he stressed the importance of decidedly old-school elements:

Watching. Talking. Exchanging notes.

“I will say, you can watch all the videos and all that, but you have to watch in the dugout, too,” Mendoza said prior to Saturday night’s game between the Mets and Cubs at Citi Field. “Watch him warm up, and then the conversations after at-bats, guys providing some feedback - ‘The fastball is moving this way.’ ‘Is it playing up?’ ‘Is it cutting?’ ‘Is it sinking?’ You can really see it out of hand. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes that, after a couple guys face him, a couple guys coming back to the dugout and they’ll start having those discussions. And we’ll make adjustments.”

Chicago manager Craig Counsell announced before the series opener Friday night–which the Mets won, 7-2–that Horton had been called up from Triple-A Iowa.

Even though Horton is a starter, he was expected to come out of the bullpen. Reliever Brad Keller was slated to start the game for the Cubs.

Counsell dismissed the notion that he was specifically trying to keep the 23-year-old righty away from the top of the Mets' lineup.

“Every day you just try to figure out the best way to win the game. Simple as that,” Counsell said. “With [the Mets’] lineup, try to give those hitters different looks. I think that’s important to do. And so this might be one way to accomplish that.

“It certainly makes whoever pitches [after Keller's] job easier. Look, you got to get hitters out. Brad Keller is going to have to get those hitters out. That’s a hard job. It’s a hard job for whoever has to do it. They’re going to hit four-to-five times a game. That’s why those guys hit. That’s why…those guys hit at the top of the lineup. That’s why they’re fairly well compensated.”

Regardless of how Counsell and his coaching staff constructed the Cubs pitching for the game, Mendoza fully expected to see Horton on the mound at some point during the night.

In six games with Iowa, Horton was 2-1 with a 1.24 ERA. He had struck out 33 in 29 innings while allowing just four runs and 12 hits. Two of those hits were home runs.

“It’s always a challenge, whether you’re familiar or not, especially when you’re talking about a prospect like this kid,” Mendoza said. “You’re watching videos and he’s got good stuff, especially that fastball. Seems like it plays up.

“But again, we haven’t seen him [in person]. Yeah, we know he’s mid-90s, can get up to 98, but we’ve got to see what it looks like. It’s always a challenge. But we’re doing our preparation here. Obviously we know he’s going to come in and play a role in this game, and we’ll be ready for it.”

So, yes, the Mets were curious to see Horton up-close-and-in-person. Although their starter, Tyler Megill, was not as celebrated as Horton, the Mets felt confident with the 29-year-old righty on the mound.

Megill was 3-2 with a 2.50 ERA in seven starts, entering Saturday. He had struck out 45 batters and allowed 45 hits in 36 innings. 

“Starts with attacking,” Mendoza said. “Getting strike one. Getting ahead and putting hitters away. Not going deep in counts. Getting ground balls when he needs to, maybe getting a ground ball [in a] double-play situation. Keeping it simple against righties. Keeping it simple against lefties. I feel like the outings [in which] he’s had success; he’s done that. He’s attacking and staying on the attack.

“In some of the outings, maybe some long at-bats because they’re fouling off some pitches. He’s trying to make that perfect pitch and before you know it, it’s 3-2. But I think, overall, he’s been really good for us.”