Ian Happ

30-Year-Old OutfielderOF

Chicago Cubs

2024 Stats

AVG

.243

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

Happ inked a three-year, $61 million extension just before the season in March and delivered another solid campaign in left field for the Cubs. His 118 wRC+ was marginally worse than 2022, though he still set career highs in stolen bases (14), RBI (84) and runs (86). Happ also clubbed 21 home runs, which is the third time in five full big-league seasons he's eclipsed the 20-homer mark. He also illustrated more patience, as a 14.6 percent walk rate was an increase of more than five points over 2022. He's not a great fit for the No. 3 spot in the order, but that's still where he was primarily deployed by Chicago for the second straight year. His RBI and run totals could come down if that changes in 2024. Happ doesn't provide big numbers in any one category, but his above-average bat is still an asset for fantasy managers that grab him at the appropriate price. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

Rest of Season

Overall Rank

Dynasty

From Preseason

#119

ADP

League Majors

Bats B

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'0"

Weight 205

DOB 8/12/1994

Born Pittsburgh, PA

College Cincinnati

Drafted 1st Rd 2015 CHC

Rejoining lineup Tuesday

OFChicago Cubs

September 24, 2024

Happ (back) is starting in left field and batting leadoff Tuesday against the Phillies.

ANALYSIS
The 30-year-old sat out the past two games due to lower-back tightness but is good to go for Tuesday's contest. Happ has a .284/.333/.395 slash line with two homers, two steals, nine RBI and 11 runs through 20 games in September.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2024 MLB Game Log

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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2017 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+10%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+12%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+20%

OPS vs RHP

2022

+1%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.729	489	65	14	61	8	.252	.319	.410
Since 2022vs Right	.804	1500	182	49	181	28	.254	.357	.447
2024vs Left	.719	161	22	7	26	1	.238	.304	.415
2024vs Right	.803	496	67	18	60	12	.244	.353	.450
2023vs Left	.694	191	28	5	19	3	.225	.309	.385
2023vs Right	.830	500	58	16	65	11	.258	.380	.450
2022vs Left	.788	137	15	2	16	4	.305	.350	.438
2022vs Right	.780	504	57	15	56	5	.261	.339	.440
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+6%

OPS at Home

2024

+12%

OPS at Home

2023

+11%

OPS on Road

2022

+19%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.808	961	122	29	117	13	.267	.358	.450
Since 2022Away	.764	1028	125	34	125	23	.241	.339	.425
2024Home	.827	312	43	13	41	6	.263	.349	.478
2024Away	.740	345	46	12	45	7	.224	.333	.407
2023Home	.749	336	43	10	44	5	.232	.342	.407
2023Away	.832	355	43	11	40	9	.264	.377	.454
2022Home	.851	313	36	6	32	2	.308	.383	.467
2022Away	.716	328	36	11	40	7	.236	.302	.414
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Stat Review

How does Ian Happ compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.48

BB Rate

12.2%

K Rate

25.6%

BABIP

.299

ISO

.199

AVG

.243

OBP

.341

SLG

.441

OPS

.782

wOBA

.345

Exit Velocity

90.8 mph

Hard Hit Rate

38.0%

Barrels/PA

7.2%

Expected BA

.247

Expected SLG

.458

Sprint Speed

23.1 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

39.1%

Line Drive %

19.2%

Fly Ball %

41.8%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Cubs Depth Chart

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Happ had an interesting season in that his homers came down, but his overall production increased. He reduced his strikeout rate by six full percentage points, and that certainly helped the 45-point imporvement in his batting average as that .271 final figure was the best in six seasons as a big leaguer. Happ also broke the 70 barrier in both runs and RBIs for the first time in his career. The .336 BABIP was the second-highest of his career and his expected stats are not very supportive of the achieved outcomes in 2022. His .305 average against lefties was the first time in five seasons in which Happy has hit above .250 against southpaws as the switch-hitter does most of offensive damage as a lefty. His approach at the plate would be better served hitting first or second in a lineup, but the Cubs primarily used him in the third spot of the lineup last season. That could change should the Cubs alter their roster this winter so be willing to adjust runs or RBI expectations accordingly.

It was a tale of two seasons for Happ. There was the pre-trade-deadline Happ, who really struggled at the plate, hitting .180/.294/.326 with 10 homers and one stolen base over four months. Post-deadline Happ hit .288/.363/.581 with 15 homers and eight steals. There are no reports of him being injured to start the season, but signs point to him playing through something. He started the season by hitting for a .146 ISO and doubled it to a .293 ISO for those last two month. Not running was an indicator something was not right. Finally, he lowered his groundball rate from roughly 51% to 39% in those last two months. Besides his power being down a bit, his season-long stats were in line with previous years. On top of all the struggles, he did post a career-high nine thefts. If he did turn a corner over those last two months, there is significant upside.

Happ got off to a hot start in 2020 and never really looked back, as he put to rest any notion that he and Albert Almora would split time in center field. Happ ended up finishing with 12 homers, 27 runs, 28 RBI and an .866 OPS across 57 games. Encouragingly, the 26-year-old posted a career-best .361 on-base percentage and kept his strikeout rate below 30% for the second straight season. Happ spent a good chunk of his 2019 season in the minors working on making more consistent contact, and that decision looks brilliant in retrospect as Happ has been a different player since returning. Notable in 2020 was the fact that Happ virtually stopped playing the infield, making just two appearances at first base. He broke into the majors as more of a utility player but is now mainly an outfielder. Fantasy managers might like to see Happ earn eligibility at more positions and run a little bit, but they can't complain much about his recent production.

In 2018, Happ led off the Cubs' season with a homer on the first pitch. Last year, Happ opened with Triple-A Iowa where he toiled until July 26. The Cubs wanted Happ to work on contact. At the time of his callup, Happ sat with a .242/.364/.432 overall line, though he had registered a 1.059 OPS with five home runs, 17 walks and only 19 strikeouts in his last 20 games. Happ played a lot the rest of the season, setting personal bests in average (.264) and slugging (.564). More importantly, he reduced his strikeout rate from 36% to 25%. A dip in exit velocity with an increase in launch angle helped fuel power but conspired to drop his BABIP to a career-low .286. After last season's improved contact rate, Happ should be in the mix for a roster spot, at minimum as a super-utilityman. In just 58 games last year, Happ played at least five contests at first base, second base, third base and all three outfield spots.

Happ experienced a heavy dose of the sophomore slump last year as he failed to meet the expectations his bat established in 2017. His overall offensive production was still slightly above league average, but that is not how he was drafted. He was very helpful in OBP leagues as he jumped his walk rate nearly six percentage points to 15.2%, but his strikeout rate worsened (36.1%), which pulled down his batting average while his slugging percentage dropped over 100 points. The frustrating part with Happ was that he chased a lower percentage of pitches in 2018 than he did in 2017, but he struggled to make contact within the strike zone as pitchers kept him guessing on pitch type and location. He is much more effective against righties and the team has not hesitated to leave him on the bench against lefties, which cuts into his overall playing time. Happ lost his second-base eligibility, but gained third-base eligibility.

It is great when rookies come up and exceed expectations as Happ did in 2017, even if it was not in full-time duty. Happ was part of the outfield rotation as well as the second-base situation in Chicago as manager Joe Maddon likes to keep everyone involved. His rookie year saw him slug over .500, something only the likes of Kris Bryant and Billy Williams have done for the northsiders. With the great power came the great problems with contact as he struck out in nearly one-third of his plate appearances. The power comes nearly all from the left side (19 of his 24 homers game off righties), but he hits for a better average when put into the game to face lefties. Many rookies struggle at the big-league level when moved as quickly as Happ has been -- he had fewer than 400 plate appearances above A-ball. This kid is special and has more room for growth.

The ninth overall pick in 2015, Happ hit .296/.410/.475 in 69 games with High-A Myrtle Beach to begin the 2016 campaign, earning a promotion to Double-A Tennessee as a 21-year-old. Predictably, there were some growing pains as his walk rate fell by nine percent between levels, resulting in a nearly 100-point drop in OBP. Happ also saw a 60-point decline in SLG, but he made more consistent contact with Tennessee and the decline in numbers did little to dim his prospect star. This is a highly appealing skill set -- Happ is a switch-hitter with a quick bat, an advanced eye and more than a splash of both power and speed. The question has been; where will he play with Chicago? That was seemingly answered with a move to second base in 2016, although there's also a chance he never ends up calling Wrigley Field "home." Trade rumors have followed Happ and will for the foreseeable future.

The Cubs selected Happ with the ninth pick in the 2015 draft, and the former college star hit the ground running. Happ, who hit .369 with 14 home runs in 198 at-bats for the University of Cincinnati last year, finished his first professional year slashing an aggregate .259/.356/.466 with nine home runs and 10 stolen bases in 251 at-bats with short-season Eugene and Low-A South Bend. He started slowly in South Bend, but came on strong late in his run and finished with a strong walk rate with good power. With most of the strongest Cubs prospects getting promoted to the majors in the last couple of years, Happ may already be one of the best players in the Cubs' system. He's a good name to know for dynasty leagues, especially because he'll rise through the ranks quickly as a polished college bat.

More Fantasy News

Out again with back tightness

OFChicago Cubs

Back

September 23, 2024

Happ (back) remains out of the lineup for Monday's game in Philadelphia.

ANALYSIS
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Dealing with back tightness

OFChicago Cubs

Back

September 22, 2024

Manager Craig Counsell said after Sunday's 5-0 win over the Nationals that Happ was scratched from the lineup due to lower back tightness, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

ANALYSIS
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Scratched from lineup

OFChicago Cubs

Undisclosed

September 22, 2024

Happ was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

ANALYSIS
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Collects three more hits Thursday

OFChicago Cubs

September 19, 2024

Happ went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in Thursday's 7-6 win over the Nationals.

ANALYSIS
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Powers offense in loss

OFChicago Cubs

September 17, 2024

Happ went 3-for-5 with two solo home runs in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Athletics.

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Latest Fantasy Rumors

Riding the wave

OFChicago Cubs

August 9, 2023

Happ has scored 24 runs since the All-Star break -- marking the third highest total in baseball in that span.

ANALYSIS
Happ possesses a mediocre .236/.349/.494 slash since the break, but the Cubs winning 15 of the past 20 games is fueling hot fantasy production. Additionally, run production is a sustainable part of Happ's floor given his stellar plate discipline. The 28-year-old owns a top-20 OBP in MLB while ranking third in total walks drawn.

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