Chicago Cubs Star Outfielder Ranked Among Best at Position in Majors

The Chicago Cubs have a lot of hype heading into 2025, Ian Happ's play in left field is a big reason for that.

Cameron Zunkel | Feb 2, 2025

Sep 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ (8) hits a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics during the third inning at Wrigley Field. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs had a relatively disappointing season in 2024, but Ian Happ solidified himself as one of the top left fielders in all of baseball.

MLB Network releases through positional ranking every season. This year, Happ was ranked as the third-best left fielder in MLB. Happ has spent all eight of his Major League seasons with the Chicago Cubs after being drafted by them in the first round of the 2015 draft. The 2024 campaign was one of Happ's best.

This past year, Happ a 3.9 WAR, a 120 OPS+, and 25 home runs. His home run total tied his career high, and his 86 RBI is the most he has had in any of his seasons. Along with that, Happ ranked in the 94th percentile in walk rate, and 84th percentile in chase rate.

Happ is constantly putting up good at-bats and finding the sweet spot. The switch-hitting star does swing and miss quite a bit, but his eye for the zone makes him a big asset.

Over the last three seasons, Happ has been one of the most consistent players in all of baseball. He is among a list of just 12 players to have a 120 wRC+ and 3.0 fWAR in that span. His consistency is the reason Happ is the everyday left fielder at Wrigley Field.

Ian Happ enjoyed a career year at the dish in Chicago, slugging 25 HR and 86 RBI while playing Gold Glove defense.

He is the #3 left fielder on the #Top10RightNow at left field. pic.twitter.com/JAPSN1ctB3
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 30, 2025

Defensively, Happ has been the best in the National League. He won his first career Gold Glove in 2022 and is now the three-time reigning winner at the position. In Left Field the past three seasons, Happ has committed just six errors while racking up 31 outfield assists. He has also started seven double plays. Happ does not have the strongest arm in the outfield, but he gets the job done.

The 30-year-old Cincinnati product has been one of the best players on the north side of Chicago for the last few years. Happ has two more years left on his contract, which includes the 2025 season. He is making $21MM this season and $19MM in 2026. He is making the third-most money of any left fielder in baseball this season and it is deserved.

Looking into this upcoming year, the Cubs have made quite a few moves to make their team better. Chicago traded for Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly, and Eli Morgan. They were also able to sign Matthew Boyd who pitched well in the playoffs for the Cleveland Guardians. There are still more moves to be made for the Cubs too.

The Cubs want the NL Central to run through Chicago, and Ian Happ is going to be one of the players leading the charge.

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