Cubs Call Up Ian Happ From AAA Iowa

.298/.362/.615 over 26 games and 104 at bats at AAA Iowa. Switch hitter. Midwest guy through and through. MLB’s #28 prospect and the Cubs #2 prospect behind 20 year-old freakshow Eloy Jimenez.

I am pleased to announce that Ian Happ has arrived*

*Temporarily as he is filling in for KB and Addison and will only be up as long as they need him to be while those guys get better. More on this to come.

As for his skill set, he’s a switch hitter with plus bat speed and power from both sides of the plate. Most of his power is in the form of line drives, with doubles to gaps and piss-rod style home runs. He’s got excellent plate discipline, which unfortunately means he will rack up enough 2 strike counts that end in strikeouts. At the same time, Happ will also be able to use his discipline to get into a lot of 2-1, 2-0 and 3-1 counts. He’s a decent runner, fairly average in the field, but plays all over. Like Kyle Schwarber, he’s been said to have a big time “gamer” attitude. (He went 4-4 in the 2016 Arizona Fall League Championship game with 2 yabos – one from both sides of the plate.)

Happ’s name has been seriously thrown around in trade talk rumors since the end of last season. I’m happy he’s gotten far enough to debut with the Cubs. Best case scenario is he plays so well that someone else has to go back to AAA. That’s highly unlikely so let’s just hope he has a positive debut and the Cubs can string some wins together.

PS – Happ has such a hardo headshot that if he were on any other team I would flat out hate his guts. Try and be tougher on media day. You can’t.