Cubs select SS Nico Hoerner from Stanford with the 24th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft
The 2018 Major League Baseball Draft began Monday night. And with the 24th overall pick in the first round, the Cubs selected shortstop Nico Hoerner from Stanford. The Cubs went with a position player in the first round for the fifth time in seven drafts under the current regime.
Hoerner was recommended by area scout Gabe Zappin.
“Nico is a talented middle infielder who handles the bat extremely well, hits to all fields and has a high contact rate. He hits the ball hard, and we think there is more power to come,” said Jason McLeod, Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development, in a statement. “He has multiple tools on the field, and all the background work we did shows he has incredible make-up. He fits exactly what we’re looking for in the organization.”
Hoerner, 21, batted .345 (80-for-232) with 17 doubles, six triples, two homers and 40 RBI in 57 games with Stanford this season, leading the school to its first Pac-12 Conference Championship since 2004. He drew 20 walks, contributing to a .391 OBP, and swiped 15 bases. The junior was named All-Conference for the second-consecutive season after leading the club in hits, multi-hit games, doubles, triples and steals.
A three-year starter with the Cardinal, the right-handed hitter batted a combined .303 (210-for-692) with 43 doubles, 10 triples and three homers in 168 games. He was named to the All-Pac-12 Defensive team in 2017 after starting all 58 games at shortstop. He spent last summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League, batting .300 (48-for-160) with seven doubles and six homers in the regular season, and earning All-Star honors.
A native of Oakland, California, Hoerner graduated from Head-Royce School where he was a three-time team captain and started four years as a pitcher and shortstop. In 2014 and 2015, he was named both the league MVP and the Max Preps California Small School Player of the Year.
With the 24th overall pick in the 2018 #MLBDraft:#Cubs select @StanfordBSB SS Nico Hoerner#EverybodyIN pic.twitter.com/JRebkEGD3W
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) June 5, 2018
With the No. 24 overall pick in the #MLBDraft, the @Cubs select @StanfordBSB SS Nico Hoerner https://t.co/qoWLKfqC4a
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 5, 2018
The 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continues this evening with the Cubs owning the No. 62 pick in the second round and the No. 77 and 78 selections in the compensation round. The draft continues tomorrow with rounds three-though-10 and concludes Wednesday with rounds 11-through-40.
