On the tenth day of Cubsmas
My true love gave to me
Ten All Star selections for Ryne Sandberg
Nine incredible Dansby Swanson plays in the Postseason
Eight home runs on the Fourth of July
Seven walk-off wins
A six (and a half) game lead
A five game winning streak
Four playoff wins
Three Schwarbombs in the first All-Star Game Home Run Swing-Off
A $2 scorecard
And an Anthony Rizzo retirement for the ages
As we discussed a few days ago, the middle of the infield defense for the Cubs has been one of their keys to run prevention. According to Statcast, there were very few second basemen who were better at preventing runs than Nico Hoerner in 2025. Just check out this grab to save a run against the Padres during the Wild Card Series [VIDEO].
Statcast measures both Outs Above Average (OAA) and Runs Prevented. By OAA, Nico was the best second baseman in the National League with 15 OAA. Among second basemen, he trailed only Mauricio Dubón in MLB. According to Statcast, those 15 OAA resulted in 11 runs prevented. It’s not hard to see plays that demonstrate why who had like this diving grab to get Jordan Walker at first [VIDEO].