Chicago Cubs: Who needs to shine during the shortened season?

This Chicago Cubs outfielder is out to silence his critics

One member of this outfield who has had it rough is Ian Happ. Happ began the 2018 season with a lead-off home run on the first pitch that was delivered in Miami. A year later, fans found him starting things off with the Iowa Cubs due to him striking out 167 times.

It was a mental battle for Ian; however, he did not give up on returning to the big leagues. On July 25, Chicago gave Happ a second chance to prove himself. In 58 games, Happ .264/.333.564 with 11 home runs, 30 RBI, and struck out 39 times through 140 at-bats.

Before departing, skipper Joe Maddon used Happ in several positions other than the outfield and his secondary, which is second base. He made seven appearances at first base and eight at third, giving his manager other options to work with.

Before baseball operations came to a halt, Happ was lighting up the Cactus League. In 27 at-bats, the 25-year-old switch-hitter recorded 13 hits (two home runs, 11 RBI) on an outstanding batting line of .481/.500/.815.

Now that National League managers will be allowed to experiment with the DH rule, Happ should get more playing time. Ross will use Kyle Schwarber as the teams DH, keeping Albert Almora Jr in center field and Jason Heyward in right field.

Expect Ian to keep things rolling.