Consistency.

This award, the Cubs’ Hitter of the Year, will not go to the most exciting Cub. It won’t go to the highest-paid Cub. It won’t go to a flashy acquisition, who may or may not have a major calf issue. 

In May, the Cubs offense was flying high, and Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong were legitimate MVP candidates. Michael Busch was looking like the 2025 version of Leon Durham. For the first half, the team averaged over five runs per game. In a league with an average OPS of .720, the Cubs far exceeded that, with a stellar .771. 

Then, the second half hit. These are not great trends:

Batting Average: from .256 first half to .240 in the second

OBP: 325 down to .314

SLG: .446 to .407

wRC+: from 115 to 102

The Cubs struggled in the second half, except for one man.

For this award, let’s acknowledge the one person (and one only) who remained consistent for the entire season. The Hitter of the Year is Nico Hoerner.

Month

AVG

OBP

SLG

wOBA

Mar/Apr

.295

.339

.362

.308

May

.290

.339

.383

.318

Jun

.295

.330

.411

.324

Jul

.284

.347

.375

.319

Aug

.283

.333

.364

.308

Sep/Oct

.333

.375

.467

.366

Postseason

.419

.424

.548

.416

 

Just look at that. Never below a .283 batting average. Never below a .330 OBP. In a season marked with inconsistency of key players, Hoerner has been a pillar of safe production. But there’s more when the numbers are dug into.

With two outs: .321/.367/.425. He kept innings alive.

With runners in scoring position: .370/.422/.459. He’s performed in clutch situations.

High leverage: .333/.375/.441. 

That’s to say nothing of a toerrid postseason. Although wRC+ only has Hoerner at 112, or 12% over an average hitter, he’s the kind of hitter who is hard to measure in a catch-all stat. Don’t be fooled by the One Stat; Hoerner has been the best and most valuable Cubs hitter for the season.

Also Considered:

Carson Kelly: Kelly was projected (by ZiPS) to have a slash line of .220/.298/.347. Instead, he hit a robust .249/.333/.428. He also had 17 home runs, much higher than his projected 8. Kelly was incredible in April. He hit seven of his longballs in that month, with 21 RBIs and a .360 batting average. 

When Jed Hoyer took some heat for talking about “overperforming projections,” this is exactly what he meant. Kelly couldn’t maintain his historic pace, but those stats still count in the aggregate. It’s a home run signing for Hoyer, and while he never really had a chance at this award, he does deserve mention.

Kyle Tucker: The favorite for this award until that pesky finger injury, and then that even peskier calf. A 22-home run, 25-stolen base season is impressive, and his 136 wRC+ was in line with his career norms. The Cubs got what they paid for, but not at the volume (or in the shape, over the spread of the season) they would have hoped. One can only wonder if buyer’s remorse has set in.

Now, the debate and fascinating part of Tucker is that he’s a free agent, and Cam Smith is a promising rookie with six years of control—although he had a calamitous second half after being rushed to the majors, batting .157/.247/.242 in the second half. It will be fascinating to see how much money free agency can net Tucker, and how much risk teams will assume based on his last two seasons and the injury risk they imply. Time will tell this, but his agent will not be able to hold the prestigious North Side Baseball Hitter of the Year award up as proof of worth.

Michael Busch: Arguably, the best hitter on the team. He wasn’t as consistent as Hoerner, either, but he was much more explosive. His 140 wRC+ and 34 home runs led the team.

Other players had stretches that were notable, such as Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, and Matt Shaw. Ultimately, though, their cold streaks were just too damaging to be considered.

The Cubs had a solid offensive season, just not a consistent one. Hoerner was an outlier here; Craig Counsell surely enjoyed penciling his production in the lineup every day. An unexpected award, but it is truly a deserved one.Â