Contract year magic strikes again? Cubs' Nico Hoerner shows promising signs of a significant power boost, potentially elevating his already strong game.
Everyone knows that players in contract years tend to post better numbers than expected. Just look at last season, when Kyle Schwarber, Cody Bellinger, and Bo Bichette all put up elite stats across the board.
Schwarber hit a career-high 56 home runs with 132 RBI, Bellinger slashed .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI, and Bichette returned to his early day form by hitting a career-high .311 with 18 home runs and 94 RBI.
All three players then got paid big money this offseason.
This year, Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner could fall under this category. He is in the final year of his deal with the Cubs and is set to be a free agent next offseason. That means a career year could be in store for the 28-year-old.
Now, Hoerner is already coming off his best season in the Majors, so it might be hard to envision an even better year for him in 2026. He batted .297 with seven home runs, 29 doubles, 61 RBI, and 29 stolen bases while finishing with a career-high 6.2 WAR.
However, Hoerner could display more power at the plate this season.
While the second baseman has never been known as a power hitter, Wyatt Baumeyer is noticing a major difference from Hoerner at the plate at Cubs camp. Baumeyer watched the seven-year veteran take batting practice on Friday morning.
“Nico Hoerner just hit three consecutive moonshots off the machine,” he wrote on X. “He physically looks bigger this year. Expect a power surge from him this year.”
It’s hard to take a lot away from just batting practice. Hoerner has probably hit thousands of home runs in batting practice in his baseball career, and it’s impossible to tell whether fans could see more power from him this season.
If Hoerner did add some muscle in the offseason, though, there is a real possibility that he could hit 10+ home runs for only the second time in his career. The only time he hit double-digit homers came back during the 2022 season.
The funny thing is that Hoerner doesn’t necessarily even need to add power to his offensive game. He is already one of the best-hitting second basemen in baseball, with an elite squared-up rate, elite contact skills, and a low whiff rate.
Adding a little bit of power would make him an even more dangerous hitter at the plate. Hitting somewhere between 10 and 12 home runs is not totally out of the question for Hoerner this season, especially in a contract season.