Happ went 1-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run and an additional run scored in Monday's 7-2 win over the Angels.
After a relatively quiet performance on Opening Day, Happ has now gone deep in Chicago's last three games. He's thriving in the No. 3 spot in the order between Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Happ's career high in home runs for a season is 25, which he's done twice, and while it's too early to say he'll surpass that figure, he is at least off to a promising start for fantasy managers.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Homers again Sunday
Rotowire
Happ went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Nationals.
Happ and Alex Bregman accounted for all of Chicago's offense Sunday, with Bregman going deep twice and Happ once. For the latter, it was his second long ball in as many games. Happ is locked in as the Cubs' No. 3 hitter most days, and with a strong lineup around him that was boosted by the offseason addition of Bregman to bat second, the veteran outfielder could be in store for an excellent fantasy campaign.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Goes deep Saturday
Rotowire
Happ went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 10-2 win over the Nationals.
Happ batted third and connected for his first home run of the season in the sixth inning. The veteran outfielder blasted 23 long balls during the regular season last year, and he's hit 20 or more in four of the last five seasons while playing at least 148 games each year. Happ should continue to serve as an offensive catalyst for the Cubs batting near the top of the order.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: No extension talks yet
Rotowire
Happ said the Cubs front office has yet to approach him about a potential contract extension this spring, but he's open to the possibility if it arises, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Happ is entering the final year of a three-year, $61 million contract extension he signed back in 2023. The veteran outfielder said he's open to discussing another extension, but the team has yet to approach him. Happ, who will turn 32 in August, has been a steady performer for the Cubs in recent years. He's recorded at least 20 home runs and 75 RBI in each of the last three seasons, and while he's only a career .247 hitter, Happ has been able to offset that with a strong on-base percentage. Chicago may not be in a hurry to commit to a player who has plenty of wear on the tires, though Happ has not shown any real signs of slowing down yet.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Helps Cubs force Game 5
Rotowire
Happ went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Division Series.
After Nico Hoerner and Kyle Tucker reached base in the bottom of the first inning, Happ cashed in with a three-run homer, which proved to be enough offense to win the game and even the series. The homer was Happ's second of the playoffs, though he's struggled overall with a .115 average (3-for-26) and 11 strikeouts this postseason.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Hits 23rd home run Wednesday
Rotowire
Happ went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Pirates.
Happ and Moises Ballesteros hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, giving the former 23 long balls for the season. The veteran outfielder has been in a nice groove this month, as he's batting .321 with five homers, 10 RBI and 12 runs scored across 15 September games. Happ now needs two more long balls to match his career high of 25, which he recorded back in 2021 and again last year.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Blasts off in win
Rotowire
Happ went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Rays.
Happ took Adrian Houser deep in the sixth inning for his 22nd home run of the season. The veteran outfielder is approaching his career high of 25 long balls, which he recorded back in 2021 and then matched last year. Happ has gone deep five times in his last 13 games, and with the Cubs set to play 13 more contests during the regular season, he has a chance to set a new career best in homers if he keeps up his recent pace and stays in the lineup most days.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Homers, on base four times
Rotowire
Happ went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run and an additional RBI in Friday's 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay.
The left fielder continued his strong start to September and has a .333/.435/.615 slash line with two doubles, three homers and a 7:10 BB:K through 10 contests this month. Happ struggled through most of the first half of the season but has delivered a .900 OPS in 37 games since the start of August.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Homers, scores four times Friday
Rotowire
Happ went 1-for-2 with three walks, a solo home run and four total runs scored in Friday's 11-5 win over the Nationals.
Happ demonstrated both his patient eye at the plate as well as his burgeoning power stroke. The veteran outfielder now has 20 home runs in a season for the fifth time in his nine-year MLB career, and he's gone deep four times in his last seven games. Dating back to the beginning of August, Happ is batting .282 with five home runs, 15 RBI and 18 runs scored across 31 contests.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Stays hot Monday
Rotowire
Happ went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a stolen base and two total runs scored in Monday's 7-6, extra-inning win over Atlanta.
Happ extended his hitting streak to six games, and during that time, he's gone 11-for-25 with the stolen base, three home runs, six runs scored and eight RBI. The veteran outfielder has gone deep on consecutive days, pushing him up to 19 home runs for the season. Happ seems to be rounding into form just in time for the Cubs' stretch run, which is a boon for fantasy managers as well.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Goes yard Sunday
Rotowire
Happ went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run during Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Rockies.
Happ delivered a clutch homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, tagging Luis Peralta for a three-run shot to tie the game at 5-5. However, closer Daniel Palencia surrendered a walk-off RBI triple to Mickey Moniak in the bottom of the ninth. Happ has recorded a hit in five straight games, and he's 8-for-20 (.400) with two home runs and four doubles during that stretch.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Reaches four times in win
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Happ went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double and an RBI in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Rockies.
Happ has enjoyed his trip to Coors Field so far, as he's gone 5-for-8 with two walks, four extra-base hits and three RBI in two games. The veteran outfielder is still having a bit of a down season by his standards, as his current .732 OPS would be the lowest of his nine-year MLB career. However, Happ has also managed 17 home runs to this point, and he could reach the 20-homer plateau for the third straight season and fifth time overall with a solid September.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Goes deep in three-hit game
Rotowire
Happ went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a solo home run, two RBI and two total runs scored in Friday's 11-7 win over the Rockies.
Happ was one of several Chicago players to get a boost from the thin Coors Field air. The veteran outfielder tied a season high with eight total bases, and he recorded his first multi-hit performance in 10 days. On the season, Happ is now slashing .231/.331/.393 with 17 home runs, 59 RBI, 71 runs scored and five stolen bases across 123 games.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Not starting Wednesday
Rotowire
Happ isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.
The switch-hitting Happ owns a .632 OPS against southpaws this season, and the Cubs will keep him on the bench Wednesday with left-hander Carson Whisenhunt set to take the mound for the Giants. Willi Castro will fill in as Chicago's left fielder and bat ninth.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Sitting out first game of twin bill
Rotowire
Happ is not in the lineup for the first game of Monday's doubleheader against the Brewers.
Happ will likely be back in the lineup for the nightcap, but he will begin Monday's afternoon tilt on the bench. Owen Caissie will start in left field and bat sixth in the first game Monday.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Reaches three times in win
Rotowire
Happ went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Pirates.
Despite getting a new outfield mate recently in rookie Owen Caissie, Happ has held onto an everyday role, and he delivered his first multi-hit performance since Aug. 8 in Sunday's victory. The veteran outfielder is having a down year by his standards with a .228 batting average and .714 OPS, but it appears his playing time is going to hold steady, and his track record suggests he should still be able to provide fantasy value down the stretch.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Gets new outfield mate
Rotowire
With top prospect Owen Caissie expected to make his MLB debut Thursday, per Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com, Happ and other Chicago outfielders may be more crunched for regular playing time.
Chicago already has a fairly crowded outfield with Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker playing most days left to right, and regular DH Seiya Suzuki also capable of filling a corner spot. The addition of Caissie is likely an attempt to jumpstart a Cubs' offense that has been struggling lately, and the top prospect figures to take playing time away from any of the current outfielders who are slumping or could use a break. Happ has the lowest season-long OPS of the aforementioned quartet, and he's slashing just .222/.310/.361 this month. It remains to be seen how Chicago divvies up playing time moving forward, but it makes sense to think that the 31-year-old Happ could see more rest days during the stretch run.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
Happ went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Reds.
Happ extended his hitting streak to five games as he launched his 16th home run of the season in the eighth inning. The veteran outfielder has been batting lower in the order recently and has seen some steady improvement at the plate following a slow start to the season. Happ is now batting .258 over his last 10 games and .230 overall.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Good to go Friday
Rotowire
Happ (shin) is starting in left field and batting seventh Friday against the Orioles.
The outfielder was held out of the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers due to a bruised left shin, though he still appeared as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-2 with a solo homer. Happ has a .231/.318/.513 slash line with three homers and a stolen base in 12 games since the All-Star break.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Homers off bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Happ (shin) appeared as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 10-3 win over the Brewers.
Happ suffered a bruised left shin during Tuesday's loss to Milwaukee, and while he didn't start Wednesday's game, the veteran was clearly healthy enough to play, as he launched his 15th home run of the season. The Cubs have an off day Thursday, which gives Happ another day to rest, and he should be in the starting lineup for Friday's contest against the Orioles.
