Red-Hot Cubs Infielder Emerges as Early-Season NL MVP Dark Horse in 2026
The 2026 season got off to a bit of a rocky start for the Cubs. Chicago went 4-6 in their first 10 games and was dwelling near the bottom of the MLB in several major statistical categories, such as hits and batting average. However, over the past week, the team has begun to get back on track, particularly at the plate, drastically increasing their collective hits and runs per game. The driving force of this offensive awakening has been a bit of an unexpected shift: second baseman Nico Hoerner has been playing like a legitimate MVP candidate. What once looked like a quiet contributor has suddenly become the engine of a surging lineup, rewriting the early narrative of Chicago’s season in real time.
As of April 18th, the 28-year-old infielder has 26 hits in 76 plate appearances for an impressive batting average of .342, blowing his previous career high of .302 in 2021 out of the water. He also has 20 RBIs thus far, which ranks second in the entire league, only bested by Andy Pages’s mark of 21. He’s hit three home runs and has 42 total bases while only striking out nine times. In short, Hoerner is on fire, and the team’s success has been skyrocketing as his individual performance has picked up. While it’s a long season and we’re only a few weeks in, it’s hard to deny that based on current performance, Chicago’s glove-first technician is likely to find himself on an MVP ballot.
The Chicago Cubs came into this season with many question marks surrounding their offense. This past offseason, they lost a two-time Silver Slugger in Kyle Tucker to the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency, they brought in a talented but aging and inconsistent veteran in Alex Bregman, and they continue to feel out just what they really have in their center fielder, Pete Crow-Armstrong, following his up-and-down breakout season in 2025. Hoerner, in his eighth season with the Cubs, has been a steady, consistent piece for the team for nearly a decade but has never been viewed as a true superstar. If the two-time Gold Glove Award winner continues his trajectory in 2026, it could mean big things for a team that has had a disappointing start to its season.
