Nico

Hoerner

Hoerner knocked a base hit in the fifth inning and scored on a groundout by Ian Happ. He later led off the seventh with a single and stole second before scoring on a throwing error. The 27-year-old second baseman is hitting .258/.328/.350 with five homers, 72 runs scored, 39 RBI, and 27 steals across 545 plate appearances.

After not running much to start the season, Hoerner is now up to 22 steals on the season with eight coming in just 23 games after the All-Star break. Now that Hoerner is getting on base relatively regularly and stealing bases more often, he’s inching closer to approximating the value fantasy managers hoped to get from him on draft day.

Hoerner and shortstop Dansby Swanson were responsible for four of the seven hits the Cubs strung together on the evening. Unfortunately, none of those hits resulted in runs, as the Cubs spent the evening being stifled by Colin Rea and the Brewers’ bullpen. Hoerner has now hit safely in three-straight games and has two doubles over that span. He’s hitting .296 in the month of July and continues to be a run-scoring machine for the Cubbies – with the exception of tonight’s shutout loss.

The Cubs had just one hit over eight innings before Hoerner’s shot down the right field line got things started in the ninth. Seiya Suzuki went on to single him in afterwards. The 10th was a complete mess for the Diamondbacks, featuring a leadoff intentional walk and then a bunt single because of some indecisive defense on an attempt sacrifice. To tell the truth, Hoerner didn’t even have to work the five-pitch walk; only the 3-0 pitch was anywhere close to the strike zone.

Nightengale also notes that the Cubs have not yet decided if they will sell at the deadline or not, but they are listening to offers for the three players listed above. Taillon is in the midst of a solid season despite not bringing a lot of strikeout value for fantasy and could see a boost with a better team context, while Nico Hoerner could see a boost to his fantasy stock as well if he is traded to a team that will let him steal more regularly.

It was a quiet afternoon for the Cubs’ offense as they could only muster one run against the Brewers. Hoerner’s home run was just his fourth of the year. He’s hitting just .248 on the season, but has a hit in each of his last seven games. He’s 10-for-27 (.370) with two home runs and three RBI in that time.

Hoerner swatted a two-run blast off Jordan Hicks in the third inning to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. That’s only the third homer of the season for the 27-year-old, but the steal was already the 14th of the year. Hoerner missed time with a hairline fracture in his hand, and he’s a good bet to see a much higher average than the .246 mark he’s put up thus far in the second half.

Hoerner hadn’t started since suffering a hairline fracture in his hand Thursday. His two steals tonight gave him nine for the year, eight of which have come since May 1.

Hoerner appears likely to avoid a trip to the injured list as he attempts to play through a small fracture in his right hand. The 27-year-old second baseman was held out of the lineup on Tuesday for the fourth straight contest, but was able to come off the bench as a defensive replacement in the late innings. The biggest question for fantasy managers is whether the lingering hand issue will impact his offensive performance moving forward, even if he doesn’t wind up requiring a lengthy absence.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Hoerner is available off the bench after getting through an extensive hitting session on Tuesday afternoon. There’s some optimism the 27-year-old second baseman will be able to play through the issue, and should return to the lineup soon, but he remains on the bench to open a three-game set down in Tampa Bay.