© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Nico Hoerner is the Chicago Cubs Shortstop of the Future
In this story:
On a late August afternoon in 2019, the top of the third inning at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Alabama began with a leadoff single for the visiting team's shortstop.
As the dusk began to envelop the field, 1,688 people sat in the stands. They watched as that shortstop laced a two-strike pitch into left field, now his second hit of the game.
A strike in the zone, a baseball asking for clean contact.
Just where he likes it.
A short time before this third-inning base hit, Nico Hoerner didn’t know when he would be back. Or if he would back at all.
On April 27th, just a few months prior, the Chicago Cubs' 2018 first-round draft pick took a fastball that ran inside off his left wrist. It side-lined the 22-year-old for several months. The “months of recovery” prognosis fell frustratingly similar to a strained left elbow ligament that ended his 2018 season in High-A with the South Bend Cubs.
Now standing on first base on this Saturday night in Mobile, as Hoerner secured his 11th hit in his last 23 at-bats, he might never have imagined being back in this moment.
Or that in just ten days' time he would be making his Major League debut.
Or in three years, that he would be the future of the Chicago Cubs.
Chicago Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner fields a ball at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
© Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
For the first time in his young Major League career, Nico Hoerner has finally put it all together. With the injuries that riddled his minor league career now in the rearview, the 25-year-old has given the Cubs, in the midst of a rebuild, a reason to rejoice. They have their shortstop. Even more importantly, though, they have a franchise cornerstones covered for the next championship run.
In his age-25 season, the former Stanford standout has put up career-highs in important categories: games played, plate appearances, hits, extra-base hits, RBI, stolen bases, and OPS.
These figures not only confirm Hoerner's growth, it’s also put the National League on notice.
With a .302 average, the highest on the Cubs, that line places him fourth amongst all shortstops in the Big Leagues, behind only the Colorado Rockies’ Jose Iglesias, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Trea Turner and Boston Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts.
His 12 stolen bases also lead his club within the category and rank seventh amongst all shortstops. Commandingly, he carries a 92% stolen base success rate. All season, he has only been caught stealing once.
Hoerner at Dodger Stadium in 2022.
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Highlighting his plate discipline, amongst all shortstops Hoerner leads the pack with the lowest strikeout percentage at 10.8% — second is Miami Marlins’ Miguel Rojas, at 12%.
His 3.4 fWAR ranks seventh among all MLB shortstops.
Hoerner has solidified his stats amongst his fellow teammates too, falling just behind outfielder Ian Happ in the hits category, and third in OPS at .773, just behind Happ and star catcher Willson Contreras.
Mid-way through August, with the conclusion of the season looming, Nico Hoerner has had himself a winning season.
Under team control through 2025, for the first time in his three-year career he has proven to the doubters that he can sustain injury avoidance while putting advanced numbers on display at the highest level.
Hoerner eclipsed the 100-hit mark already for the first time in his career in 2022, and nine times this season were three hits next to his name in the box score.
On a Saturday afternoon in August, 36,787 sat in the stands at Wrigley Field in Chicago and watched as a 0-1 pitch was looped into left field against Miami Marlins starter Pablo Lopez for Hoerner’s third hit of the game.
A strike in the zone, a baseball asking to be driven right to left field.
Just where he likes it.
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