(670 The Score) Cubs center fielder Ian Happ recognized the differences in teammate Nico Hoerner before they even took the field this spring training.
Happ saw a player in Hoerner who added strength to his frame and was carrying himself with confidence. But that's only part of the equation. Happ has also watched how Hoerner has grown as a hitter and made necessary adjustments, as he explained on the Bernstein & Rahimi Show on Thursday.
"His maturation process has been really about finding the position he wants to be and going from a guy in college who used his hands a lot to using his body more and understanding in the big leagues, ground balls are outs (and) he has to get the ball in the air," Happ said. "When you're in college, you're super fast and super athletic the way he is, you can get hits on the gorund if you'r hitting the ball hard. You can beat out some balls to the left side. But in the big leagues, it doesn't happen.
"For him, to learn that process, understanding where his swing has to be, what pitches to fire at, knowing who he is as a hitter -- in just 250, maybe, big league at-bats -- he has learned quickly.
"He's learned so quickly that who he is as a hitter, he needs to be aggressive early in counts. The more aggressive he is, the more ball he hits hard, the more pitchers will respect him and pitch around him and that's how he gets walks.
"I think you'll see him continue to learn and mature because he's so focused on being the best baseball player he can be and dissecting information, what it takes. He's just going to keep getting better."
The Cubs selected Hoerner in the first round of the 2018 MLB amateur draft, which was three years after they took Happ in the first round. The 23-year-old Hoerner has struggled at times offensively during parts of two MLB seasons, hitting .247 with a .643 OPS over 208 career plate appearances. Hoerner's goal is to become the Cubs' everyday second baseman.
Hoerner has displayed his hitting improvements early in spring training, going 9-for-13 with a home run and three doubles in five games.
