#ILLWILL Willson Contreras and Ian Happ will play in the 92nd MLB All-Star Game tonight in L.A. but the Cubs best hitter and arguably their most consistent player in the first half of the season is shortstop Nico Hoerner.
He's 4th in the NL(11th in the league) with a .307 batting average with a strikeout rate of 1 in every 9.29 plate appearances.
He's been on fire, batting .376 (35-93) with 14 runs, six doubles, two home runs 10 RBI and a .901 OPS in his last 24 games since June 22. He's hit safely in 20 of the 24 games with 10 multi-hit and five three hit games and has reached base safely in 37 of 41 games since June 1. He had an eight game hit streak where he batted .531 (17-32) and a seven game streak where he hit .357 (10-28) this season.
Defensively he's tied for 3rd in the league (with Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes) in Defensive WAR with a 1.6. Hoerner has a .976 fielding percentage, has made plays up the middle, in the 5.5 hole and has shown the arm strength . He's extremely fundamentally sound and is mastering the footwork needed to be elite at short. My bet is, he will continue to prove the haters wrong and show that he's an everyday MLB shortstop. "I'heard the critics. I've always believed in my ability and I've always put in the necessary work," Hoerner said.
Compared to Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner who will start for the NL in the Midsummer Classic and Atlanta Braves reserve Dansby Swanson, Hoerner has a higher batting average than both. Turner has 77 Ks and Swanson has 103 compared to only 31 for Hoerner. (Swanson has played in 17 more games/Turner 13 but you can do the math)
Obviously Fernando Tatis would've been in LA tonight had he been healthy to start the season but if Turner or Swanson just so happen to need a replacement, Hoerner should be on the receiving end of that call from Commissioner Manfred.