Welcome to the party Ian Happ. Like Obi-wan Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker, “congratulations, you’ve just taken your first step, into a larger world.”
Happ now joins an exclusive club- the next HUGE THING in Cubdom. Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Addison Russell are already here. Javy Baez blew his first chance, but he’s waiting in the wings. Behind him is Albert Almora, Daniel Vogelbach, Kyle Schwarber, well, you get the point already.
Let’s get to the Ian Happ dossier.
For the fifth year in a row, the Cubs went position player. Pretty much everybody thought they were going to go for a pitcher, but obviously Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer wanted to go best player available. Ian Happ was a solid choice, IMHO as I actually had him mocked 7th overall to the Boston Red Sox. For him to fall to the Cubs at #9, it was a situation you couldn’t pass up.
Happ, a University of Cincinnati Bearcat, was recommended by area scout Daniel Carte.
“Ian has proved to be one of the better performers in college baseball over the past couple of seasons,” said Jason McLeod, Cubs Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development via a prepared statement.
“He’s a switch-hitter who hits for average and power while showing advanced plate discipline. We feel he’s athletic enough to play the infield or outfield.”
Happ has played in RF, CF, as well as 2B, 3B and SS. He’s listed as one of the top 3 pure college hitters in the draft by Baseball America.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 9, 2015
Obviously, the Cubs have been accumulating shortstops, and them moving them around. It sounds like an unorthodox strategy, but there’s a bit of genius to it in that SS is usually the position that requires the most defensive skill. It’s usually the where most balls get hit, so if you have athletes/prospects with a SS skill set, you can find a place for them and slot them in.
Depending on if/when Ian Happ gets to the parent club, one would think he’ll be in the outfield, because the Cubs infield is already stacked with young studs. The outfield however, could use a talent upgrade.
Named a semi-finalist for the 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award (the baseball version of the Heisman Trophy), the switch-hitting Ian Happ was recognized as the 2015 AAC Player of the Year and Second Team Louisville Slugger All-American.
The six-foot, 205-pound Happ has batted .338 with 120 runs, 44 doubles, two triples, 25 home runs and 107 RBI in three seasons at Cincinnati. He has drawn more walks (128) than strikeouts (116), contributing to a .463 on-base percentage, and along with his .552 slugging mark has recorded a 1.015 OPS through his junior season. His walks and on-base percentage both rank third-most in school history while his 56 stolen bases are fifth. Happ has seen time in both right field and center field, as well as second base, third base and shortstop.
He’s definitely “a fit” for what the Cubs want to do. And although the draft, and being a Cubs fan in general, is all about optimism. Don’t expect Ian Happ to be a 15 time MLB All-Star just yet. This has happened to the Cubs at the #9 overall pick in recent years as well.
LRT: other #Cubs drafted #9 overall include legends Derrick May and Ty Griffin.
— The Tomfoolery of Professor John Frink (@Frustrated_Fan) June 8, 2015
High hopes for Ian Happ. Maybe he will become the next huge thing.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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