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Chicago Cubs: Happ put up better numbers than you realize
Last season, Happ played in his first full big league season, appearing in 142 games and slashing .233/.353/.408 across 387 at-bats. One of those numbers jumps off the page – and not in a good way. His .233 average clocks in well below league average and paired with a 36.1 percent strikeout rate, folks soured on Happ pretty quickly last year.
The former first rounder’s decline aligned pretty well with the team’s offensive downfall. After putting up an .832 OPS in the first half, he bottomed out with a .653 OPS after the All-Star Break. But as poorly as he swung the bat down the stretch, his .313 on-base percentage in the second half was just five points off the National League average of .318.
And if you go back to the first half? He put up a .379 OBP – 61 points better than league average. Now, don’t get me wrong. I want Ian Happ to put that bat on the ball more and cut down his strikeouts.
But I would be far more concerned if he struck out 36 percent of the time and only got on at a league-average rate. We’re talking about another young Cubs hitter capable of getting on – a lot.