PEORIA, Ariz. When Cubs manager David Ross put together his first line-up of the spring on Monday, he scored Anthony Rizzo in the first slot. That’s the same Rizzo who famously and humorously proclaimed himself the greatest first hitter of all time.
No, there is no controversy on top of the Chicago order.
There is a risk if you read too much into the Spring Training lineups, especially when games first start and veterans gradually get into the mix. The Cubs Cactus League opener was a day off for switch-hitting Ian Happ, who earned the first job last season and will stay there during the opening day.
“Ian will have the opportunity to continue that role,” Ross said before his team’s 1-0 victory over the Padres. “That was a man who had a phenomenal year for the shortened season. He continues to grow and discover his strengths and weaknesses. I can see he keeps getting better.”
At the start of Spring Training a year ago, Ross quickly stated that Kris Bryant declared his choice for the leadoff role as one of his first assignments for business. The manager liked the idea of Bryant’s combination of strength, on-base skill, and baserunning on top of the order, and the star third baseman was on board with the experiment.
That decision was before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the sport, leading to an incoherent year with a shortened season. And during that 60-race sprint, Bryant was never at full power. A series of setbacks from injuries affected his performance and time on the field, giving him a chance for Happ.
Happ was in ninth place on opening day on July 24 last season, launching a homerun in a win against the Brewers. With so much emphasis on every win, Ross had to play the hot hand. On August 18, Happ was installed as the number 1 batter and reacted with a homer, two basehits and two walks in his first game.
[One thing] I really appreciate Rossy for leading you out and keeping it going, ”said Happ. That was just a little different from the past when I hit the lead-off, and I think that’s what led to the consistent success of last year. “
Happ has said a few times that he was happy to take “the burden” of leading some of the Cubs’ other hitters. To that end, Chicago has had a kind of revolving door – both in terms of staff and production – in the seating arrangement in recent years.
Consider that the 2017-19 Cubs cycled through 17 players (in terms of starts) in first place. That came after Dexter Fowler set up a line-up fuze on top of the order on Chicago’s ride to World Series glory in ’16. Since Fowler’s departure, the North Siders have been looking for consistency in that work.
Here’s a look at the leadoff production for the Cubs over the past five years:
2016: .267 / .381 / .434, 123 wRC +
2017: .246 / .324 / .422.94 wRC +
2018: .302 / .366 / .454. 121 wRC +
2019: .212 / .294 / .383, 77 wRC +
2020: .211 / .307 / .418.96 wRC +
Last year’s numbers are somewhat misleading, as Bryant handed in a .177 / .271 / .323 slash as the first man in his 16 starts. Happ started 37 games in that role, hitting .239 / .333 / .486 with a 119 wRC +. In 275 career record innings as a leadoff hitter, Happ has recorded a .809 OPS with 15 homers.
Last season, Happ hit a total of .258 with 12 homers, 28 RBI’s and a .866 OPS in 57 games, but the past few weeks took its toll on his overall performance.
Happ was caught in the eye by an accidental foul ball on September 3 in Pittsburgh, missed a day, then hit two homers on his return on September 5 in the opener of a doubleheader against the Cardinals. Including Game 2 that day, the midfielder then hit .153 / .247 / .181 in 81 PA’s in the remainder of the regular season.
Happ said the eye problem was more of a mental than a physical setback.
“It was certainly a difficult three-week period to end the year,” he said. “The eye was something that was a challenge, and especially a mental challenge. Because when something like this happens, especially something that is really of the utmost importance to your game, the doubt can creep in pretty easily when things start to go sideways.”
Between the season and the playoffs, Happ said he could use the rest time to dig into what was haunting him. What he discovered had more to do with the timing of his swing than anything else.
“I could see there were problems with being on time,” explains Happ. “I was able to fix that in our few playoff games there. And so I felt good making those adjustments. And this year’s goal will be to make them faster, and to make them faster mentally. to make.”
As the first man, that will also be necessary.
Since Happ is a switch hitter, Ross has some flexibility with how to proceed with the setup from there. Whether Ross puts right-handed Bryant second or Rizzo’s left bat in that spot, the manager will have several ways in which to alternate right-handed and left-handed for balance.
“We’re going to move [Happ] at the top of the line-up to get on base for a few horses, ”Ross said. As long as everyone stays healthy, we’ll get rid of him backwards. ‘