Cubs Officially Sign Top Draft Pick, SS Nico Hoerner

The Cubs announced Thursday that they had officially come to terms with top draft pick Nico Hoerner, a shortstop from Stanford. Terms of the deal were not listed in team’s press release, but the Tribune’s Mark Gonzales reported that Hoerner received the full value of the $2.724 million signing bonus assigned to the No. 24 pick.

From the Cubs’ release:

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.

Now let’s hope that extra “E” in his surname isn’t indicative of his play.

With Hoerner’s addition, the Cubs have agreed to terms with 17 of the 40 players they drafted. You can see all of the picks below, with those who have signed shown in bold.

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