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Ian Happ 2019 Outlook: Reasons for Concern
The 2018 version of Ian Happ was nowhere near as good as the 2017 version. Happ’s 2018 was buoyed by a huge improvement in his plate discipline and a decrease in his overall swing rate that led to a 15.2% walk rate. However, his strikeouts spiked to an almost untenable 36.1%, a rate so high that the Cubs gave Happ only 462 plate appearances despite playing in 142 games. If the power rebounds and Happ reclaims playing time, especially with Addison Russell’s suspension, he could turn into a valuable middle infielder. The improvement is possible given that Happ will be only 24 during the 2019 season, and he has shown the ability to grow and adjust at other levels of ball. It's also encouraging that Happ maintains a healthy Swing% (42.8%) and O-Swing% (24.7%), but he still has trouble making contact too often, as revealed by his high swinging-strike rate (15.6%). Expect his K% to decrease to just below 30% this season, but it’s difficult to trust a player who managed only a .233 batting average despite enjoying a .362 BABIP. Unless the numbers regress towards a league-average BA and his power emerges, Happ will become unrosterable.
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