Nico Hoerner stating case for 2B job early in spring originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Cubs manager David Ross recently said Nico Hoerner's job this spring "is to make it as tough on me and Jed [Hoyer] and our group as possible to put him in the lineup.”
Through five Cubs spring training games, Hoerner is holding up his end of that notion.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Hoerner, who's competing for the starting second baseman job this spring, continued his hot start at the plate on Friday against Cleveland. The 23-year-old went 2-for-2, crushing a home run to left-center field in the second inning while adding an RBI single to right field in the fourth.
If you're keeping count at home, Hoerner is now 7-for-8 this spring. Small sample aside, that's good for an .875/.875/1.500 slash line.
"He's come in with something to prove. You can see it all over his actions," Ross said before Friday's game. "It's hard not to get excited, but this is baseball. And the season hasn't even started yet, so we've got a long way to go."
Ross added of Hoerner's offseason work carrying into camp: "It's pretty evident that he's in a really good place."
Indeed.
Click here to subscribe to the Cubs Talk Podcast for free.
