Chicago Cubs first-round pick Nico Hoerner is off to a fast start to his minor-league career. Even though he's not expected to have as big of an impact with the bat as previous first-round picks out of college like Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ, Hoerner has been great so far on offense and defense.
The Cubs recently promoted Hoerner to South Bend, the Low-A full season affiliate of the organization after the Stanford shortstop played just seven games at short-season ball with the Eugene Emeralds.
In his first four games with the South Bend Cubs, Hoerner has gone 6-for-15, with two walks, one strikeout, a double and on Sunday he hit a home run.
In 14 games since signing with the Cubs, Hoerner has a slash line of .327/.450/.571, with two home runs, two doubles, two triples, nine walks, six RBIs and six stolen bases. That includes three games in the Arizona League. Oh and Hoerner is already making ridiculous plays on defense too.
This line from Patrick Mooney's quick recap on the 2018 draft for the Cubs caught my eye. No, Hoerner doesn't have the hype that Kris Bryant had when he was picked second overall in 2013, but it's the intangibles, which made one Cubs official think of Bryant when doing background work on Hoerner. Via The Athletic.
One Cubs staffer who did some background work on Hoerner said he sounded like Kris Bryant — almost too good to be true in terms of his attitude, focus and work ethic.The focus, hard work and determination are paying off for Hoerner in his first month with the Cubs. And who knows, if Hoerner isn't being tested enough with South Bend, he could be getting another promotion before the year is over to Myrtle Beach.
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