Back in 2015, the Chicago Cubs selected Ian Happ with their first round pick. Happ quickly moved up in the minors and became one of the cubs top prospects. Once he got the call up in 2017, all cubs fans were ecstatic. Sadly, Ian hasn’t completely lived up to the hype. But based off of the numbers, Cubs fans should be giving Happ more respect.
Ian so far during his career has a career .816 OPS which all things considered isn’t bad at all. Last season Happ put up great numbers during the second half of the season after getting called back up from triple A Iowa. Ian posted a .898 OPS, along with a .368 wOBA a 1.5 WAR, and a 127 wRC+. If Happ can become a consistent hitter, I could see him definitely posting even better numbers. There were many 1-2 week stretches last season where the 25 year old would get hot, he even earned player of the week honers during the last week of the season. What makes Ian even more valuable is his versatility. Ian is an underrated fielder who can play OF, 3B, and 2B.
One things Cubs fans commonly argue about Ian, is that he shouldn’t be the starting in CF over Albert Almora Jr. If Cubs fans would check the stats, they would see that the job should most definitely go to Happ. Almora posted a negative WAR last season, that is not good at all. He had a OBP in the mid 200’s. Some Cubs fans like to argue that Almora’s glove is the reason he should get the job, but all things considered Happ is not that much worse of a fielder.
In the end, one could consider Happ as one of the more underrated Cubs, if Happ can find consistency on the offensive side of the ball, he could be a vital piece to the Cubs lineup.
Cubs writer for Field2Court.
