Name Ian Happ | Role Baseball Player | |
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Profiles | ||
Know your bearcats ian happ baseball
Ian Edward Happ (born August 12, 1994) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at the University of Cincinnati for the Cincinnati Bearcats baseball team. He was drafted by the Cubs in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft.
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Ian happ triples in a run for the cubs
Career
Happ attended Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In four seasons, he hit .449 with 12 home runs and 65 runs batted in (RBIs). He committed to the University of Cincinnati to play college baseball. As a freshman, Happ started in all 56 games and had a team high .322 batting average, .483 slugging percentage, .451 on-base percentage, six home runs, 41 runs scored, 13 doubles, and 47 walks. After the season, he played in the Cape Cod League. As a sophomore in 2014, he started 50 of 51 games. He hit .322/.443/.497 with five home runs and 19 stolen bases. After the season, he played in the Cape Cod League for the second consecutive year. As a junior, he played in 56 games, hitting .369/.492/.672 with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs.
Happ was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. The Chicago Cubs selected Happ in the first round, with the ninth overall selection. After he signed with the Cubs, Happ made his professional debut with the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League. In July, he was promoted to the South Bend Cubs of the Class A Midwest League. After playing the outfield positions during his first year of professional baseball, Happ was sent to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League to start the 2016 season and began playing second base regularly. MLB.com ranked him the third best prospect in Chicago's farm system to start the year. Happ was promoted to the Tennessee Smokies of the Class AA Southern League during the 2016 season. He finished 2016 batting .279 with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs. After the season, the Cubs assigned Happ to the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League.
Happ began the 2017 season with the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. The Cubs promoted Happ to the major leagues on May 13. Happ hit a 413 ft. home run off of Carlos MartÃnez of the St. Louis Cardinals for his first career MLB hit. In a June 13 game at Citi Field against the New York Mets, Happ became the fifth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam and strikeout four times in the same game. After Happ's 10th home run of the season, "exit velocity" became a topic of conversation. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, "When he hits it, it goes quickly." Happ hit his 20th home run on August 30 against Pittsburgh Pirates starter Ivan Nova.