The Rundown: Horton & Palencia Dominate, MLB Implementing New Rules Changes, WBC Final Tonight

I was hopeful that today would feel a little more like spring, but I woke up to 16-degree temps and a blanket of snow that has deepened as the day has worn on. It’s supposed to be 77 and sunny on Saturday, which is perfect for the local high school’s first intrasquad scrimmages, but the potential for perfect weather isn’t helping my immediate outlook. Meanwhile, it’s so hot in Arizona that Cactus League games are being pushed into the evening.

The rising temps weren’t all that provided the heat last night, as Cade Horton struck out 10 batters over five innings in the Cubs’ 5-2 win over the Guardians in Goodyear. The burgeoning gave up one run on three hits and a walk, and he stretched out to 72 pitches. This was a tremendous response to his last outing, a real stinker in which he surrendered three dingers, which is exactly what I expected from him.

Horton’s fastball sat 96 mph and nearly touched 99, but it was the changeup that stood out on Monday. Cleveland’s lefty-heavy lineup allowed him to throw the pitch much more than usual, going to it nearly 30% of the time (20 pitches) after being a little under 13% last season. What’s more impressive to me is that Horton remains rooted in the process regardless of the results.

Hitters got a whiff of Cade last night. ? pic.twitter.com/IkyTWUF2MW

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 17, 2026

He came away from last week’s rough outing feeling good about his movement on the mound, and his response to Monday’s gem was pretty much the same.

“We did a really good job of sequencing,” Horton told reporters. “I mean, the whiffs are cool, but I’m not up there chasing whiff. I’m just up there executing pitches.”

Maintaining that same outlook will prevent him from chasing stats, which should lead to quicker adjustments and more consistent performance. That will solidify him as the staff ace, the kind of pitcher who is expected to win every five days. Horton is the clear leader of what the Cubs hope will be a wave of young pitchers who’ve been developed within the organization, a reality that has been nothing short of Sisyphian over the last two decades or more.

While Daniel Palencia can’t be claimed as wholly homegrown, he’s made huge strides since joining the Cubs in July of 2021 as part of the return for reliever Andrew Chafin. Palencia drastically reduced his walk rate last season and was installed as the closer after a series of other options pitched themselves out of the role. Shaky performances and a brief shoulder issue held him to just one save in September, but the Cubs felt comfortable enough about his future to avoid spending big on a veteran closer.

GET IN, WE’RE GOING TO THE FINALS. #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/0FjtKNc0W1

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 17, 2026

Palencia’s performance for Venezuela in the WBC has provided early confirmation of their choice, and now he’s got a chance to help his team defeat Team USA’s juggernaut. His triple-digit fastball and junkyard dog mound demeanor make him look and feel like a prototypical door-slammer, and getting this massive boost of confidence from shutting down games on a massive global stage can only help.

It’ll obviously take a lot more than two pitchers for the Cubs to get back to something better than chasing the Brewers season after season, but this is a great start.

New Rules Changes Being Tested in Minors This Year

In an exclusive report, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen shared information from a league memo detailing rules changes that will be implemented in the minors this year. Given how often these new rules make their way to MLB, it’s safe to say Rob Manfred isn’t satisfied with ghost runners and bigger bases. ABS is the latest example of something coming to MLB after being tested in the minors, but it won’t be the last by a long stretch.

The memo includes the addition of check-swing adjudication, which could be a major advancement over asking for base umps to make the call. Not only are they 90 feet away, but the definition of what constitutes a swing remains far too subjective. This change will make challenges far more uniform and should cut down slightly on strikeouts.

A swing will be considered to have occurred if the maximum angle between the bat head and the bat handle exceeds 45 degrees. This rule was tested in the Florida State League and Arizona Fall League in 2025. In the FSL, the strikeout rate was over 3% lower when Check-Swing Challenge was used, having a positive impact on balls in play and encouraging more extensive testing at higher levels. Under this format, each team will continue to start the game with 2 challenges. Challenges may be used on either ball/strike calls or swing/no-swing calls, but not both on the same pitch.

There are also some changes to the pitch clock that are meant to further hasten the pace of play, though I won’t get into those in any detail here. The other change I do want to cover is the repositioning of first base, the description of which probably could have been worded better.

To encourage more action on the bases, in the International League second base will be placed entirely within the perimeter of the infield diamond during the second half. This change will decrease the distance between first base and second base, and the distance between second base and third base, by approximately 9”, i.e., double the change achieved by increasing the size of the bases from 15” inches to 18.” MLB will work with the groundskeepers in the International League to move second base prior to the start of the second half of the 2026 season.

As noted by X user Matt Schopper (@primetime821), this is really just a matter of better aligning second with first and third. Using the diagram below, the update would shift second down so that its top edges are flush with the diamond. This is the kind of thing no one would ever notice if they weren’t told about it first.

More News and Notes

• Seiya Suzuki had an MRI yesterday, the results of which should be announced today.
• White Sox pitcher Mike Vasil is set to undergo season-ending elbow reconstruction after exiting his last outing with soreness.
• The WBC final is tonight on FOX at 7pm CT.
• Warstic is releasing a new one-piece alloy BBCOR bat called the Terracane on Thursday at 9am CT. This is the weapon used by Arkansas junior outfielder Kuhio Aloy, younger brother of last year’s No. 31 overall draft pick Wehiwa Aloy. This is Warstic’s first mid-loaded bat, and they’re hoping it can compete with the Combat Mfg. Spec A1 models that have taken the bat industry by storm.
• During last night’s broadcast of the Italy/Venezuela game, play-by-play man Joe Davis discussed Aaron Nola‘s early struggles last year due to a stress fracture in his ribs. John Smoltz went on to explain how difficult it is to pitch with a lower-body injury.
• Team USA will don game-worn US Olympic hockey sweaters to tonight’s ballgame.

Trailer Time

Tom Clancy‘s Jack Ryan character has starred in several movie adaptations, with Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck playing the Marine-turned-CIA analyst. In more recent years, John Krasinski assumed the mantle in a four-season Prime Video series that has now spawned a theatrical version. Jack Ryan: Ghost War sees the elevated everyman embarking on his “most personal and dangerous mission yet” alongside many of his TV cast members.

I very much enjoyed the series and am intrigued by how well it will translate to the big screen. Prestige TV allows for so much more depth in the story, and I am a little skeptical about how they can distill that same high-wire tension into 105 minutes.