Ian Happ’s breakout season is masking struggles of Cubs superstars

Amid the struggles of Kris Bryant and Javier Baez, a breakout season from Ian Happ has been welcome for the Cubs.

Things are going well for the Chicago Cubs, with a 16-8 record and a four-game lead in the NL Central entering Thursday’s action. But stars Kris Bryant and Javier Baez have struggled, each with a batting average below .200 and an OPS below .600. Enter Ian Happ.

Happ homered on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, then he followed with a home run in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader. He went 1-for-3 with a triple in the second game, pushing his slash-line to .315/.438/.671 (1.109 OPS) with six home runs,13 extra base hits and 14 RBI so far this season.

Happ spent a big chunk of 2019 in Triple-A (99 games), and it was worth wondering if he’d ever reach his potential in the big leagues. But over his last eight games with the Cubs last year, he showed signs of what might be to come (.480/.519/1.200 slash-line, five home runs, three doubles, 12 RBI).

As Bryant deals with a lingering wrist issue, Happ has taken over the leadoff spot over the last three games. It’s obviously a small sample, but he has gone 4-for-9 in that span with two home runs and three walks.

Ian Happ is hitting the ball hard

Entering Wednesday, as cited by Matt Snyder of CBS Sports, Happ was in the 70th percentile or better in average exit velocity, hard hit percentage and barrel percentage. He’s still striking out a lot (25 times in 90 plate appearances), but he is taking walks at a higher rate too (15 so far this season).

This might be the last run for the Cubs’ 2016 world championship core, with Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jon Lester, Wilsson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber coming up on the end of their contracts. But Happ has put himself into the conversation as a long-term piece again, with club control via arbitration through 2023.