Nico Hoerner Popped Off in the 2nd Half - What Changed?

"Depending on whether you prefer FanGraphs (4.8 fWAR) or Baseball Reference (6.1 bWAR), Nico Hoerner was either the best or second-best player on the 92-win Chicago Cubs by the crude measure of individual player WAR. But given his performance in the second half of the season (122 wRC+, 2.4 WAR) and in the playoffs (172 wRC+, HR, SB), I don't think it's a stretch to say he was THE most impactful Cubs player of the year."

"All still true, but here's my issue with what I said in that article: That was the last and deepest mention of his second-half I wrote all winter. That's criminal. Nico Hoerner was a very different, far better offensive weapon later in the year, and we need to dive a little deeper into that to see what was happening and if it looks sustainable."

"Obviously, the "regular" version of Hoerner (i.e., in the 105 wRC+ range) would be a perfectly acceptable outcome in 2026, especially because he gets there a different way than most of the rest of the Cubs lineup ( extreme low-K guy) ... to say nothing of his baserunning and defense. But if he can replicate that second-half (or something close to it) over a full season, he'll be that much more valuable to the Cubs. And I like dreaming on that."

Nico Hoerner posted a career year with the Cubs, registering 4.8 fWAR (FanGraphs) or 6.1 bWAR (Baseball Reference) and standout postseason production (172 wRC+, HR, SB). A June 24 split yields roughly 306 PAs in the first half and 343 in the second, revealing a marked second-half uptick. After June 24 he produced 18 more points of AVG and 29 more points of OBP, driven by a notably higher walk rate while maintaining an extremely low strikeout rate. His baserunning and defense add value, and a repeat of the second-half level over a full season would significantly boost his 2026 worth.

Read at Bleacher Nation