Should Ross Drop Ian Happ in Chicago Cubs' Batting Order?

As Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ continues to struggle at the plate, is it time for Cubs manager David Ross to consider dropping him in the lineup?

With six weeks remaining in the regular season, the Chicago Cubs find themselves in the thick of a playoff chase.

Entering play Tuesday, the club is just 2.5 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. Not many people — myself included — saw this coming from the North Siders, after their dismal 26-36 start, through the season's first two months.

Cody Bellinger's June 15 return from the IL ignited the Cubs' offense, and in the time since, the club is 35-22. Despite the uptick in offensive output, there remains a gaping hole in the number three spot of David Ross' everyday batting order.

Left fielder Ian Happ has been the club's primary number three hitter throughout the course of the 2023 season. Happ's breakout 2022 season — in which he slashed .271/.342/.781 with 17 home runs and 72 RBI — inked him a three-year, $61 million contract extension earlier this spring, which will run through 2026. In the time since he signed his extension April 12, Happ is batting .234 with 13 home runs and 54 RBI. Over his last 85 games, dating back to May 12, he's slashing just .215/.332/.713.

As Happ continues to underperform, Cubs manager David Ross has kept his left fielder in the club's three hole. Happ has started 119 of the Cubs' 124 games. In 96 of those games, he's batted third. He's batted clean-up 20 times, and batted fifth three times. Happ has 58 RBI on the season, the fifth-highest total by a Cubs player, despite being in the optimal position to drive home runs. He's batting .249 with men on base.

At this point in the season, Ross should consider making some adjustments to his batting order, in order to improve his club's chances at winning its first division title since 2020. Put simply, the Cubs have better options.

The three hole has traditionally been reserved for a team's biggest bat. The number three hitter should rank among the team's best in RBI, Slugging Percentage, Batting Average, home runs and OPS.

Among active Cubs' players, Happ is eighth in OPS, behind Bellinger, Jeimer Candelario, Christopher Morel, Miguel Amaya, Patrick Wisdom, Mike Tauchman and Dansby Swanson. Happ is 10th amongst his peers in Slugging Percentage (.407).

Happ has the 11th-best batting average (.240) among active Cubs and is fifth in homers, in spite of playing more games than any of his teammates. Despite playing 41 fewer games than Happ and mostly hitting towards the bottom of the lineup, Morel has more RBI and home runs than the switch-hitting left fielder.

Happ's greatest offensive weapon has been his ability to draw walks. On the season, he has a sturdy .360 On Base Percentage, while batting just .240. But since the start of the summer, he's reached base at a much lower rate. From the beginning of June on (67 games), Happ has an OBP of .332. Since the start of July, he has a .326 OBP, and in the month of August, Happ's OBP is down to .286.

Happ is one of two corner outfielders that has disappointed for the Cubs in 2023. Seiya Suzuki's poor performance landed him on the bench just over two weeks ago. So why is Happ untouchable? Happ's contract extension guaranteed him a full no-trade clause and a hotel suite all to himself for every road series. Was he also guaranteed a permanent spot in the three-hole?

The three-hole is an imperative spot in a lineup, especially for a team in contention. Since acquiring corner infielder Jeimer Candelario at the trade deadline, the former Cubs prospect has arguably been the club's best bat not-named "Cody Bellinger", slashing .339/.418/.926. Over 17 games with his new team, Candelario has batted sixth four times, seventh seven times, and eighth once. Tuesday night, he will hit seventh once again. Morel, who is second in home runs and fourth in OPS among the club's ranks, will bat eighth.

It's not an overly difficult equation. A club's best hitters should get the most at bats. Ross should consider moving Bellinger up from his regular spot batting clean-up, to third. Candelario should hit behind Bellinger, with Swanson still batting fifth. Morel's power should have him now lower than the sixth spot.

Happ should move below the club's top six hitters for the time being. Perhaps a move down in the batting order will help him regain his 2022 form, which made him the fifth-highest paid player on the Cubs' roster.

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.

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