Ian Happ has become one of the best hitters in the Chicago Cubs’ lineup.
After bursting onto the scene with the Chicago Cubs in 2017, Ian Happ looked to be the next star in the making in Wrigleyville.
Those grand ideas were put on pause after an attempt to make Happ the everyday leadoff hitter in 2018 led to disastrous results. Happ’s 2019 season didn’t get off to a much better start. He was a surprise demotion to AAA just days before the regular season began.
Now, three years after his initial debut, Happ is once again turning heads.
The Cubs are off to an MLB best 13-3 start, and Happ’s been the team’s top hitter just over a quarter of the way through the shortened 2020 season. Through those first 16 games, Happ’s slashing .326/.456/.609 with three home runs and eight RBIs.
Those numbers stand out not only as the best on the team (aside from Jason Kipnis who has less than half the plate appearances), but also as one of the best across all of MLB. Happ’s 1.065 OPS is 10th best in the majors, and for those of you more inclined to advanced stats, his .445 wOBA and 186 wRC+ rank 10th and 12th, respectively.
Happ’s blazing hot start has earned him the role of the Cubs’ everyday center fielder, plus a recent jump in the batting order.
Seeing a player make such huge strides at the plate always raises two questions. First, what is he doing differently? And second, is his performance sustainable? Let’s dive in.
The biggest thing Happ is doing differently this year is being more patient. He’s cut his swing rate considerably, offering at just 37.2 percent of pitches he’s seen – that’s nearly a 10 percent drop from his career swing rate of 46.2 percent.
Swinging less means he’s been able to be much more selective. He’s swinging at fewer balls outside of the strike zone, but he’s also swinging at fewer strikes as well. Because of that, Happ’s really narrowed his swing selection down to pitches that are located where he can drive the baseball.
Take a look at his swing percentage zone chart with 2019 on the left and 2020 on the right.