SAN DIEGO -- Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the Chicago Cubs are calling up 2018 first-round pick Nico Hoerner from Double-A Tennessee to play shortstop while Javier Baez and Addison Russell are on the mend.

Hoerner, 22, compiled a .743 OPS in 70 games at Double-A and is slated to play in the Arizona Fall League, but the Cubs need him now. Baez is seeing a hand specialist on Monday after he was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his left thumb, while Russell is in the concussion protocol after leaving Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers after getting hit in the face by a pitch.

Hoerner will be the first player from the 2018 draft class to make it to the majors, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Hoerner grew up in northern California and went to Stanford before the Cubs drafted him No. 24 overall last summer. He's hit for a high average at just about every level of baseball, but the Cubs are hoping he plays some solid defense in place of Baez and Russell. The team is thin at that position, hence the need for the Double-A call-up.

The Cubs are 4.5 games out of first place as they begin a series with the Padres, though they currently are the second wild-card team in the National League.