Hoerner not in starting lineup on Thursday

Hoerner’s stolen base was his 18th of the season as he continued his strong start to the second half. The veteran second baseman isn’t hitting for as high an average as fantasy managers are accustomed to, but he’ll likely finish with double-digit homers and roughly 25 thefts. The Cubs entered the day as MLB’s second-highest-scoring offense, which will help his counting stats too.

Hoerner gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead with a dribbler to second that was able to score a run. He hit the ball considerable further a couple innings later with a solo homer off a (yet again) ineffective Edwin Díaz. Hoerner has now gone deep seven times in 2026, and he’s been able to procure 53 RBI.

Hoerner tied the game at 2-2 in the seventh before the Cubs added on two more then and one in the eighth. Hoerner has two homers in six games after going 80 straight games without one from Apr. 22 until June 27. He’s hitting .410/.419/.541 with 13 RBI in 15 games since the break.

It was only a pair of singles, but it’s interesting that the Cubs batted Ramírez in the two-hole with Seiya Suzuki out. Ramírez is hitting .350/.398/.500 in his last 30 games with one homer and four stolen bases, perhaps there’s a Maikel Garcia-type fantasy season in him if he gets enough playing time. This was his first career start anywhere higher than sixth in the order.

Peralta and Holmes are almost assuredly being dealt this week, and the Cubs are looking to add starting pitching. As Passan notes, the Cubs also have “plenty of bats available” that could interest the Mets, like Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramirez in the big leagues, or Owen Ayers and Jefferson Rojas in the minors. It remains to be seen if the teams can make anything work, but the pieces seem to be there.

Hoerner grabs a seat on the bench with red-hot rookie Pedro Ramírez taking a turn at the keystone after connecting for his first round-tripper since April 21 earlier this week. The 29-year-old speedster has been phenomenal since the All-Star break, hitting .417 (20-for-48) across 11 games during that span.

Hoerner hit a two-run homer off Hunter Dobbins to essentially put the game away in the top of the ninth. It was his first homer since way back on Apr. 21, when he hit his fourth in 23 games to start the year. It now seems pretty official that he’s turned things around after a two-month slump; he’s batting .432/.432/.545 in 10 games to start the second half, raising his OPS from .631 to .666.

Bregman has really been scuffling at the plate over the past month, slashing .186/.298/.353 with four homers and 19 RBI over 121 plate appearances in his last 26 games. Perhaps taking a day off to clear his head will do him some good. Pedro Ramirez will man the hot corner in his absence and will bat eighth against Braxton Ashcraft and the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.

Ramírez takes a seat for the second straight game after starting three consecutive contests earlier this week. The 22-year-old infielder hasn’t really gotten an extended opportunity with the Cubs. He would be interesting for fantasy purposes in an everyday role. He made the leap from a unheralded contact-oriented hitter with limited power into a potential top-tier prospect with elite bat-to-ball skills and upper-echelon exit velocities earlier this year at the Triple-A level. He’s a name to watch at the upcoming trade deadline in case his playing time equation changes.

Hoerner remains hot, and his triple scored three and doubled the Cubs’ lead to 6-0 in the third frame. It comes a day after Hoerner singled four times with an RBI, and it’s helped improve his slash to .245/.314/.341. Hoerner has certainly gone on hot runs before, and it’s possible we’re seeing the beginning of one to start the second half of the 2026 campaign.