Da Windy City
Fansided

Re-Grading Every Cubs First Round Pick Under Jed Hoyer

An A+ in 2013? An F in 2017? Hindsight is 20/20, but the Cubs can learn a thing or two from it.

By Zoe Grossman

Jed Hoyer, Cubs President of Baseball Operations, speaks on the phone before a game at Wrigley Field
Jed Hoyer, Cubs President of Baseball Operations, speaks on the phone before a game at Wrigley Field / Griffin Quinn/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 7
Next

2017: P Alex Lange, 30th Overall

Grade: D

Lange's collegiate career had a bit more merit than Little's: he was a consensus All-American as a freshman at LSU and helped lead them to a College World Series Final in 2017.

Lange never got to debut for the Cubs and became their central trade piece to the Tigers when the Cubs rented Nick Castellanos for the second half of the 2019 season.

Castellanos has long moved on from the Cubs but Lange remains with the Tigers and has pitched decently as a reliever over the last four seasons, posting a 3.72 ERA in 183.2 innings of work.

2018: SS Nico Hoerner, 24th Overall

Grade: A

Don't let his current off-year fool you: Hoerner possesses the highest career WAR (12.8) out of anybody drafted in the first round in 2018. The 2023 Gold Glover is one of the more elite defenders in baseball, even after moving to second base upon Dansby Swanson's arrival.

With the Cubs looking more and more like sellers at the deadline, Hoerner's name has floated around as a potential trade piece to kickstart another rebuild. He's hit .345 with a .958 OPS over the Cubs' last two series, raising his stock to teams such as the Mariners, who are reportedly interested.

Though Hoyer may be desperate to keep his job, giving Hoerner away at this stage in his career would be a huge risk. Hoerner has earned his place in the team's core, and throwing in the towel this early could make for a disaster for the franchise.

Home/Chicago Cubs