RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
ROSTERED IN: 13% of leagues
ANALYSIS: It already feels like Nico Hoerner has been a fixture in the Cubs lineup and dugout for years; which is why I was quite surprised to find out that he's still just 23, having blown through the minor leagues in just 337 AB (268 of which came at Double-A) and arrived with Chicago insanely quick after his three-year stint at Stanford. Hoerner had an admirable showing over a limited 78 AB back in 2019, but the growing pains were inevitable, and the consensus top-fifty prospect going into the 2020 season struggled tremendously across 108 AB with a mere four XBH (all doubles), three steals in five tries, and an unsightly slash of .222/.312/.259. I suspect that Hoerner has discovered some emerging "grown man strength" in his core prior to the 2021 campaign, wielded without a single compromise on the part of agility or coordination. He's always been able to play multiple defensive positions at a high-quality, in fact, he netted a 0.8 dWAR in his brief/miserable 2020, and he's currently sixth on the Cubs in WAR (0.5) despite taking one-third of the AB as the teammates ahead of him in that area.
In just 25 AB so far, Hoerner has already matched his XBH total from 2020 (four doubles), stole a base in his lone attempt, has walked and struck out six times each, and at this point he's slashing phenomenally at .360/.484/.520. He's done almost everything right if the goal is to spray the lawn with pesky base-hits: his ISO has risen to .160 (up by 12.3% from 2020), his hard hit rate continues to grow to 42.1%, his average exit velocity is up 2.6 MPH to a career-best 89.4, he's creating a combined 84.3% line drives and grounders from batted balls (his GB/FB ratio is up to 6.00), and while he's striking out just a tad more, that's barely noticeable behind his equivalent walk rate of 19.4% (up by 10%). All in all, the .474 BABIP is just a reflection of what good can come from hitting the ball harder/flatter while taking walks like it's a nice day in the park. Nico Hoerner can hit for extra-bases now, but you'll have to reap the rewards through his BA/RBI/R/SB marks because his new groove is tailored strongly against home-run-hitting. He's actively realizing his potential; and with the defensive flexibility he offers, the vision and execution he's displayed at the plate, and a stolen-base-upside that's nothing to sneeze at, Nico Hoerner has plenty to offer those in medium to deep formats.
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