Theo Epstein believes Ian Happ will make the next big leap for the Chicago Cubs and after the switch hitter won the leadoff spot battle in spring training someone else might be on the verge of losing a lot of playing time in 2018.
As Cubs fans, we’ve seen plenty of amazing performances from young players during spring training and now you can add Happ to that list. He didn’t just win the leadoff spot down in Arizona, he was the best Cubs hitter in Cactus League play. Happ posted a 1.211 OPS in 19 games, cranking out seven home runs in 53 at-bats.
While Kyle Schwarber grabbed all the headlines this offseason with his body transformation, Epstein noted Happ’s work since the end of 2017 to get into his best athletic shape.
Happ was selected ninth overall in the 2015 MLB draft and had a surprisingly great rookie season in 2017. The switch hitter made his big-league debut last May and went on to hit 24 home runs, while posting an .842 OPS, which was fourth best in the Cubs’ lineup behind, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras. Not bad for a rookie, who wasn’t even expected to come up until the end of the year.
Despite the quick success, Epstein expects much better things from the 23-year-old converted shortstop.
Early in March, Epstein was on The Spiegel and Parkins Show on 670 The Score, (RIP to that show) and when asked who he felt would be the next player to take a big leap in 2018, he answered immediately. Ian Happ.
The answer isn’t a surprise, but the reason is. It’s all about the work Happ’s done with his body in the offseason. (You can listen to the entire interview here.)
“Happ is a good candidate for that honor at this point, based on what he’s done this winter to reshape his body a little bit. I had a conversation with him at the end of last season when we were done playing. He’d had a terrific rookie year — 24 homers in a partial season, showing he can play in the middle of the field a little bit, which hadn’t been expected of him. But he didn’t get in the lineup toward the end of the year, ended on a bit of a down note. We just had a conversation about learning from the year that he had. I asked him to focus on getting into his most athletic shape possible. He can go a lot of different directions with his body. He’s strong. He can get big and strong and be in a position to hit a ton of homers or he can lean down. He’s one of the fastest guys on the team and probably in the top 10 percent of fastest guys in the league when he gets going. I asked him to slim down.”
Happ was by no means out of shape, but it’s clear Epstein saw something in the young player, who if he gets into the best athletic shape possible can become more than a home run hitter.
The work put in by Happ during the offseason will make him a better overall player, especially on defense, Epstein explained.
“He had a great offseason reshaping his body, dropped a few pounds, got really twitchy and is moving around great in center field. Between that and the fundamental work that he’s been doing in the outfield all winter and into this spring training camp, it puts him in a position to be considered as a legit center fielder, which honestly we never thought was the case when we drafted him.”
Although Happ had a great rookie season, he did struggle when hitting right-handed. He had a .276/.313/.476 slash line against lefties in 2017, that included only drawing five walks in 105 at bats.
That leaves Albert Almora Jr. with the chance to get in the lineup against lefties. However, Cubs manager Joe Maddon did say Happ will get a shot to be the every-day leadoff man.
Via the Chicago Sun-Times.
Manager Joe Maddon reiterated Sunday that Happ – the No. 9 overall draft pick in 2015 – will start the opener in center field and get a chance to run with the leadoff job as long as he looks like he can handle it.
As of now, it seems pretty set that Kyle Schwarber will get most of the starts in left and Jason Heyward will get most of the starts in right, so that’s why I’m singling out Almora. Yet, that could obviously change throughout the season if let’s say Schwarber or Heyward struggle.
It’s pretty obvious now that although Happ has the ability to play at second base, the Cubs want him out in the outfield, which is going to cost someone playing time if he can continue his success from spring training.
The following quote from Epstein was again from early March, way before Happ locked up the leadoff spot.
“If you would’ve seen him play in college, he was pretty defensively challenged. Now he’s someone who might see a lot of playing time in center field for a contending team. He deserves a ton of credit for that.”
(Theo Epstein)
A lot of playing time for Ian Happ means a lot less playing time for someone else.
