Ian Happ's cold streak could not have come at worse time for Cubs

Ian Happ is the longest tenured member on the Chicago Cubs, having reached 1,000 games played with the club earlier this year.

He's a remarkably consistent presence in the lineup and in the outfield, and he leads the team with aplomb, even when things aren't going his way.

Unfortunately, things have not been going his way for some time now. Over the past 30 days, Happ has played in 22 games, drawing 87 at-bats. In that time, he's slashing a pitiful .161/.263/.253, good for a .516 OPS that ranks last on the team among all players with at least 40 at-bats in that span.

Though Happ is going nowhere, his immense struggles could not have been more poorly timed. With the Brewers making a hard charge for first place in the NL Central and the Cubs' front office focusing their attention on pitching and third base help at the trade deadline, the veteran left fielder needs to correct his struggles as soon as possible.

Ian Happ's tumultuous July putting pressure on Cubs

In July, Happ is slashing .157/.283/.255, which results in a 61 wRC+ that would be his lowest in a single month since July 2021.

Randy Holt of North Side Baseball did an excellent write up on the mechanical issues in Happ's swing from both sides of the plate, and suffice to say, he's lacking a consistency in his plate approach right now.

Happ remains an exceptionally patient hitter with an elite eye, but his swing path has been erratic all season long, and there's no real rhyme or reason as to why it's been changing so frequently this year. Until he can rein in his swing, his poor batted ball metrics aren't too likely to improve.

For what it's worth, Happ has started the second half of the season on a high note, grabbing a hit in all three games in the series against the Red Sox, including a pulled, line drive home run from the right side of the plate.

Now on a five-game hitting streak including games played before the All-Star break, perhaps the notoriously streaky Happ is in the midst of busting out of his frigid slump. And, it should be noted, despite all of his recent struggles, his baseline production has still been valuable to the team, thanks to his elite 15.0% walk rate in July.

Again, Happ isn't going anywhere at the trade deadline, and thanks to the presence of Seiya Suzuki, outfielders won't be high on the front office's wish list over the next ten days. Still, as the team looks to finalize its roster before the stretch run, getting a turnaround from Happ would bring a lot of peace of mind to Cubs fans and executives.