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Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ is having a bit of a strange season, to say the least. Happ is hitting for a career low .218 batting average, but already has 10 home runs with a .795 OPS in just 47 games and 147 plate appearances. Happ is on pace to hit around 34 home runs this year, which would be a career high by a significant margin. The most home runs Happ has hit for the Cubs in a single season is 25, which he did in 2024 and 2021.

On the other hand, despite the power surge, there’s been a lot more swing and miss from Happ as well. Happ (age 31) has a 34.3% whiff percentage, placing him in the bottom 7th percentile amongst major league hitters, according to Baseball Savant. His K percentage is 31.7%, putting him in the bottom 6th percentile amongst hitters, according to Baseball Savant. His power and on-base metrics, however, have gone up substantially.

Happ Is Hitting The Baseball Very Hard But Striking Out A Lot

Happ is in the 94th percentile with a 17.1 barrel percentage, and he’s walking at an extremely high rate (16.8%), placing him in the 96th percentile, according to Baseball Savant. Happ’s previous 2025 season and throughout his career have had closer-to-average swing-and-miss rates, with about average to slightly above-average power, per Baseball Savant. It’s difficult to make sense of his start by these metrics, as they don’t really align with the type of player Happ has been in prior years.

Happ is in his walk year, in which he will become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. Happ originally signed a 3-year, $ 61 million contract extension with the Cubs back in April of 2023. Happ has a great arm for a left fielder with a positive 1 arm value, putting him in the 98th percentile, per Baseball Savant. However, his overall range and ability in the outfield have been about league average this year, according to Baseball Savant.

Happ Is Having Significant Presence In Cubs Lineup

Happ has usually hovered slightly below league average as a defender in his career in the Cubs’ outfield. The main anomaly this season, compared to previous seasons, is his power output so far. Happ has never really been known for being a big-time power hitter, despite hitting 20 or more home runs in five of his ten seasons. The Cubs, on the other hand, have a solid record so far (29-20) and are only a half-game back from Milwaukee, which is currently in first place.

The NL Central has been very good to begin the season, especially the Cardinals, who have exceeded expectations so far, with a 28-19 record and just narrowly ahead of the Cubs in second place, and also only a half game back in the standings from the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cubs have a decent lineup, with Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ being the biggest contributors offensively to this point.

As to whether the Cubs decide to engage in contract extension talks with Ian Happ after this season, remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain: the Cubs will take his power production, even with the greater swing-and-miss. This season has certainly been uncharacteristic for Happ based on what we usually see from him.