Cubs Second Baseman Nico Hoerner On Verge Of Increasingly Rare Feat

Once considered the hallmark of a good Major League hitter, the .300 batting average has felt like an endangered species in recent years as strikeout rates have skyrocketed across MLB.

In addition, teams and players are placing less emphasis than ever on batting averages and are willing to accept more strikeouts in exchange for slugging. But the ability to put the ball in play is still valuable, and few players epitomize that value more than Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner.

There are currently just eight qualified batters across MLB hitting .300 or better through Friday, and even after going 1-for-9 across his last two games against the Reds in Cincinnati, Hoerner is one of them, with his average sitting at an even .300. Cody Bellinger was the last Cub to hit .300 in a full season, posting a .307 average in 2023. Before that, you have to go back to Ben Zobrist and his .305 mark in 2018.

Nico Hoerner is hitting .301, just behind Trea Turner’s .305 for the NL batting title.

With 9 games left, Nico will likely get about 35 at-bats. To finish with a .306 average over Turner (who may not return from injury), he needs 14 hits in 35 AB—a .400 pace down the stretch. pic.twitter.com/JqGoPxh3uL
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) September 19, 2025

Hoerner is one of just two qualified National League hitters with at least three hits for every 10 at-bats, trailing Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner in the race for the NL batting title. Turner, who is hitting .305, has not played since Sept. 7 and is currently on the Injured List with a hamstring strain. His status for the remainder of the regular season is uncertain.

Despite ranking in the bottom 10 percent of all players in average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit rate, Hoerner has been on a tear in September, hitting .410 with a 1.053 OPS prior to Thursday night. He raised his batting average by 14 points over a 15-game span to put himself in serious contention for the batting title, which would be the first by a Cub since Derrek Lee in 2005.

Nico Hoerner will play in the postseason for the first time in his career 👏 pic.twitter.com/qi0kp7QQfm
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 17, 2025

Hoerner has been especially strong in clutch situations — his .364 average with runners in scoring position is fourth in MLB, behind only Jacob Wilson (Athletics), Bo Bichette (Blue Jays) and Xavier Edwards (Marlins). He has battered left-handed pitching, hitting .366 with a .946 OPS against southpaws. And while he may not hit the ball particularly hard, he does square it up, ranking in the 96th percentile in that category.

He also rarely swings and misses, with just a 7.2 percent strikeout rate while making contact on nearly 89 percent of his swings. Combine that with outstanding defensive metrics at second base — Jared Greenspan and Jason Foster of MLB.com predicted that Hoerner will win his second career Gold Glove this year — and he leads the Cubs in Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement at 6.1.

Nico Hoerner defense — Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

In the second half, Hoerner has been a stabilizing force as the bats that carried Chicago throughout the first two-plus months of the season, namely Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki, all went cold for extended stretches. Along with Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson, Hoerner has helped keep the Cubs' offense afloat and avoid a free fall.

Following the best year of his career, Hoerner will play in the postseason for the first time after the Cubs clinched a playoff spot with Wednesday's win in Pittsburgh. Hoerner was on the playoff roster in 2020, when the Cubs lost in two games to the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card round, but did not appear in either game.

The Latest Chicago Cubs News