Cubs' Hoerner lands on seven-day IL

A solid start to Nico Hoerner's first full season in the Minor Leagues has hit its first speed bump.
The Cubs' second-ranked prospect was placed on the seven-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Wednesday. Hoerner exited Double-A Tennessee's game against Chattanooga on Tuesday following his second at-bat, when a 2-2 offering from Lookouts starter Tejay Antone hit him on the left wrist.

The 21-year-old has not played since, but the Chicago Tribune reported that the extent of the damage was only a bruise. He's eligible to return to the lineup as early as the middle of next week if the injury has healed sufficiently. 
Chicago was aggressive with its 2018 first-round pick (24th overall) out of Stanford by sending him to the Southern League -- skipping over Class A Advanced after he played only four games at Class A -- for his full-season debut. MLB.com's No. 95 overall prospect rewarded that decision by getting off to a solid start with the Smokies. Through 17 games, Hoerner is batting .293/.388/.483 with six RBIs, seven walks and eight strikeouts. The shortstop's lone homer was an inside-the-parker on Monday.

In 2018, the Oakland native went from All-Pac-12 Conference selection to first-rounder to Minor Leaguer, playing 14 games total. With Class A South Bend, he suffered a left elbow injury while diving for a ball that cost him the rest of the regular season. Hoerner salvaged some of the missed time by lighting up the Arizona Fall League with a .337/.362/.506 slash line, four triples, four doubles and 11 RBIs in 21 contests. 
"Nico is awesome," Cubs farm director Jaron Madison told MLB.com in March. "I think the most impressive thing about him is the kid -- the makeup and the person he is. He's a team guy, a leader and he connects really well with his teammates. You don't normally get that from guys who go in the first round."