Nico Hoerner's Throwback Season Has Catalyzed Lower Half of Cubs Lineup

In the day and age where the long ball is king, what Nico Hoerner is doing in Chicago this season is quite the homage to baseball's past. Hoerner has shown an extreme lack of power this year, but he's been marvelously productive, nonetheless.

When you talk about clutch hitters in the Cubs lineup, it's easy to gravitate toward the heavy hitters like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker. Yet, when digging into the numbers, there's a strong case that nobody has been more clutch than Hoerner. Chicago's scrappy second baseman has a slash line of .433/.455/.533 with runners in scoring position. To better wrap some perspective on that, in terms of average alone, the next-highest Cub with runners in scoring position is Michael Busch at .357.

Hoerner's ability to seemingly never strike out and always put the ball in play has worked wonders in the lineup this year. It isn't the way all teams would go, as most have catered to loud contact and home runs while accepting increasingly high strikeout rates across the league. Hoerner is a throwback.

In terms of whiff percentage, Hoerner is in the 98th percentile in all of baseball. Strikeout percentage? How about the 99th percentile. Hoerner is even squaring the ball up tremendously, resting in the 98th percentile. Few hitters in baseball—none, if you're in the right mood and look at it from just the right angle—more consistently generate solid contact with the ball when they swing.

On the other hand, Hoerner is in the 5th percentile in hard-hit percentage, 7th percentile in bat speed and 14th percentile in average exit velocity. There's some shades of Luis Arraez here, but in terms of coming up big with runners in scoring position, Hoerner more than takes the cake.

The fact that the Cubs have seemed to accept Hoerner never being a power hitter has helped unlock another level of confidence in his game. The glove has always been present for Hoerner, and the bat is now following suit.

Of all big-league players this year with at least 200 plate appearances, Hoerner is the only one without a home run. Some organizations may race to the panic button or deem it unsustainable. It's been a hell of a chess piece that the Cubs have turned into a positive.

This is the same Hoerner who had his name swirling in trade rumors this offseason, when the Cubs were rumored to be interested in Alex Bregman. There were even reports dating back to last December that circulated around a potential deal with Seattle that featured Hoerner. The Cubs chose the right path in keeping Hoerner on the north side of Chicago, at least for now.

Hoerner will never be a hitter who can carry a lineup. He'll never be relied upon to deliver a moonshot that sends a dagger through the heart of the opposition. That's fine. His impact sends waves through the rest of the lineup in other ways.

There is beauty in situations where Hoerner comes up with a runner or two in scoring position and you know, at a minimum, he's going to put the ball in play. Often, as fans, we pray for the player of our favorite team in that spot to just make contact. With Hoerner, that's rarely in doubt.

There are plenty of reasons the Cubs boast one of the best offenses in baseball this season. The addition of Tucker has been massive and has alleviated a lot of pressure elsewhere in the lineup. Suzuki has been a monster primarily being a designated hitter, and is piecing together his best offensive season since coming to the United States. Crow-Armstrong has surprised many with just how dynamic his bat has been. Everyone was aware of the speed and just as aware of the glove. The bat has been a catalyst in plenty of pressure-packed moments. Carson Kelly looked like Aaron Judge for a while, and Ian Happ has held things down at the top of the order.

All of those and more have helped contribute in a big way to the successes the Cubs have had offensively. Don't forget about Hoerner, who in 2025 is thriving at the dish with next-to no power; who struggles to keep up in a lot of categories that are deemed super valuable in today's game. Hoerner's fine doing it his way, and right now, so are the Cubs.