Chicago Cubs like Happ's numbers, versatility
Make it five in a row.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Cubs took a position player with their first pick in baseball's amateur draft.
On Monday night, they went with outfielder-second baseman Ian Happ out of the University of Cincinnati with the ninth pick overall. In the second round, they went with North Florida outfielder Donnie Dewees.
The 20-year-old Happ is a switch hitter who batted .369 (73-for-198) this season with 18 doubles, 14 home runs and 44 RBI. He walked 49 times to contribute to a .492 on-base percentage, and his .672 slugging percentage gave him a 1.164 OPS. Happ led the American Athletic Conference in batting average, OBP and slugging percentage, and he tied for the lead in walks.
"Extremely excited," said Happ, a native of Pittsburgh. "I'm so fortunate to be part of such a great, historic organization."
Happ's numbers definitely make him the kind of player favored by this regime, as were first-round picks Albert Almora, Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber from 2012-14, respectively. In 2011, the previous management team took shortstop Javier Baez with its first pick. Bryant and Schwarber were college hitters.
Jason McLeod, the Cubs' scouting and player-development chief, said the Happ pick was all about the process, especially with eight players being taken ahead of Happ.
"That's why you spend all spring scouting these guys and the better part of the last 10 days putting your board together, having those discussions and sometimes having those arguments," McLeod said. "And then when you're picking ninth, you trust in how your board's lined up, and you just sit back and watch and wait to see what happens.
"Our strategy is always to get the best player for us. We certainly don't walk away from pitching. It's been talked about a lot. The history of the draft will tell you that if the players are close in the evaluation, the college hitter is usually the way to go. They're the ones that usually pan out the best."
McLeod said he and the Cubs believe Happ is versatile enough to play several positions.
"Certainly he's a versatile player, athletic," McLeod said. "Just in the last couple years at the University of Cincinnati and (in the Cape Cod League), He's played multiple positions. He's played short. He's been over at second. He's been out in center field, out at the corner outfield. Certainly we feel he's athletic enough to move around. We're not going to put any limitations right now on where will play."
Happ said he's "excited to play any position the Cubs want me to play, and I can't wait to see where they want me."
The signing-bonus slot for ninth in the first round is $3,351,000.
In other news, McLeod said Baez will be out at least six weeks and perhaps eight weeks with a broken left ring finger. Baez injure himself sliding into a base Sunday in a game with Class AAA Iowa, where he recently had moved to third base.
There had been talk the Cubs might bring Baez up to DH in this week's two-game series at Detroit. That won't happen, and McLeod said there was no talk of bringing Schwarber up to do that.
Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WBBM 780-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jon Lester (4-4) vs. Anibal Sanchez (3-7) today; Jake Arrieta (5-4) vs. Shane Greene (4-5) Wednesday. Both games 6:08 p.m.
At a glance: This is the Cubs' first foray into interleague play in an American League Park, meaning they'll get to use the DH. It won't be infielder Javier Baez, who broke the ring finger of his left hand sliding into a base Sunday for Class AAA Iowa. The Tigers (30-28) won the final two games of their series with the White Sox this past weekend, but they're 2-8 in their last 10. Detroit batters entered Monday ranking first in the AL in on-base percentage. They were eighth in runs and 12th in homers with Miguel Cabrera having 12 of the team's 45. He has a line of .320/.427/.558. The Cubs (30-25) ranked 10th in runs, eighth in OBP and seventh in homers in the NL. The Tigers are 14-15 at home, while the Cubs are 15-14 on the road. These teams meet at Wrigley Field Aug. 18-19.
Next: Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, Thursday-Sunday
- Bruce Miles