Cubs Star Nico Hoerner Weighs In On Who Should Win AL MVP Race

One of the best players for the Chicago Cubs has weighed in on one of baseball's biggest topics.

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The Chicago Cubs are about the head into the playoffs and have a lot of issues to fix, so the hope would be that all focus is being made on exactly that. Players pay attention to the sport as a whole though, maybe more so in Major League Baseball than any other league.

When it comes to topics across the league, one of the biggest in baseball right now -- even though it has no impact whatsoever on the Cubs -- is the American League MVP race. Aaron Judge is once again having a historic season for the New York Yankees, but so is Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

Asked to give his opinion during an interview with 670 The Score in Chicago, Cubs star second baseman Nico Hoerner -- who is having an incredible year of his own -- weighed in on the matter.

Hoerner Says American League MVP Belongs to Judge

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"It's a really good race, I feel like usually I would go on the side of the catching position, it's just so hard to get production from that if you're a catcher pushing 60 homers it's an automatic MVP," Hoerner began, but added OPS context which sold it for him.

"But when the OPS from Judge is almost 200 points higher, that's a really, really big difference. I think sometimes with players that are so great there's kind of some fatigue in excitement about them because it's just another great year from him, but I think Aaron Judge is the MVP."

Raleigh has had an incredible season and arguably the greatest offensive campaign in history for a catcher, slashing .245/.359/.586 with 58 home runs and 121 RBI through 154 games with a bWAR of 6.9.

Judge, though, is having one of the best hitting seasons ever himself, leading Major League Baseball in batting average, walks, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS and bWAR. With a mind boggling slash line of .325/.452/.669 along with 49 home runs and 105 RBI in 147 games with a bWAR of 8.9, it's really not all that close.

Nico Hoerner believes Aaron Judge deserves to win the tightly contested American League MVP race, noting we sometimes unfairly get "fatigue" when elite players put up a season that's similar to their other terrific seasons. pic.twitter.com/e8reW5nCVb

— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) September 23, 2025

Hoerner Has Had Special Campaign of His Own for Cubs

The 2018 first round selection has had the best season of his career with a 6.2 bWAR and a slash line of his own of .302/.350/.397 all while providing the same elite level of defense which makes him such a valuable player.

Hoerner's breakout so to speak has been a massive part of the reason why Chicago is in the position it's in, and they are going to need his bat to be at its best if the Cubs have any shot of making a deep run this October.

Sep 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (2) warms up for the bottom of the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Chicago will not have to face either Judge or Raleigh unless they make the World Series, a trade-off they would be glad to take on in the Fall Classic. Clearly though, Hoerner has his sites more so than anything on the task at hand, and it's helped him stay so locked in this season with his great year.

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