Chicago Cubs Second Baseman's Healthy Year Lands Him Among Game's Best

The Chicago Cubs received their second healthy campaign in as many years from their second baseman, and he is now looked at as one of the best in baseball at the position.

Sep 27, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (2) gestures after hitting a double as Cincinnati Reds first baseman Spencer Steer (7)stands nearby during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs drafted second baseman Nico Hoerner out of Stanford University in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft.

Just over one year later, Hoerner made his Major League debut as one of the team's September call-ups, and hit .282/.305/.436 with three home runs, 17 RBI, and a 90 OPS+ across 82 plate appearances in 20 games.

It would be a struggle for him to find playing time over the next few seasons, though, from a plethora of injuries that kept him from appearing in 100 or more games until 2022 to inconsistency at the plate, but the last two years have seen the second baseman play in 150-plus games in each.

Healthy over the last two seasons, Hoerner has begun to provide consistent production at the plate, while also giving the Cubs stellar defense that has been a staple throughout his career.

After his 2024 campaign, he performed well enough to finish just outside of the top five in the last second base power rankings from Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, ranking as the sixth-best at the position.

"An elite defender and a dynamic threat on the bases, Nico Hoerner has quietly been one of the most valuable players in baseball over the past three seasons," writes Reuter, "racking up 13.0 WAR in 436 games for the Cubs."

Offensively this year, Hoerner batted .273/.335/.373 with seven home runs, 48 RBI, and a 101 OPS+ across 641 plate appearances in 151 games.

His calling card at the plate is his aversion to striking out, as he carries a career strikeout rate of just 12%, well below the league average of 22.8% since his debut. He cut that down even more this season, striking out only 10.3% of the time.

While he's adept at not striking out, Hoerner is most known for the stellar defense he provides at second base.

Heading into 2024, he accrued 27 Outs Above Average at the keystone, an average of 5.4 per year, and in 2024 he tallied 10 Outs Above Average per Baseball Savant, falling in the 95th percentile for all of MLB, and ranking as the fourth-most among all second basemen.

Hoerner has now shown that he can remain healthy and on the field for a whole season, and because of his consistent offensive production and outstanding defense, he will help Chicago tremendously in their journey to get back into playoff contention.