Ian Happ’s Struggles Against Left-Handed Pitchers: A Tactical Analysis

Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ experienced a familiar scenario on Saturday. With Seattle Mariners’ left-hander Cade Anderson making his major-league debut, Happ wasn’t in the Cubs’ lineup. Instead, Kevin Alcántara started in left field, Tyrone Taylor was in right, and Seiya Suzuki took the designated hitter role. Happ’s performance against left-handed pitchers has led manager Craig Counsell to explore other options.

Happ’s struggles are evident in the numbers. He’s hitting .229 with a .292 on-base percentage, .521 OPS, and a 34.8% strikeout rate in 132 plate appearances from the right side this season. These statistics highlight his difficulties, which have limited his at-bats against left-handed starters. His appearances are mainly during the middle-to-late innings against lefty relievers.

“He’s going to still have right-handed at-bats, that’s for sure, so he’s going to continue to work on it and try to get there with it,” Counsell said on Saturday. “But right now there’s going to be some places where he’s, especially against left-handed starters, that will probably go the other direction in the first part of the game.”

Happ acknowledges his challenges with left-handed pitchers. He noted that while last year didn’t yield favorable results, the expected outcomes were promising. This year, however, it’s been harder to create impact against lefties. Acquisitions like Tyrone Taylor and the recall of Alcántara provide Counsell with other right-handed bats.

“I’m still working on stuff, but when you get the limited at-bats and when you do get the opportunity and it doesn’t work out, you might have to wait,” Happ said. “I haven’t had a right-handed at-bat for a week and you do it again and if that doesn’t work then try something else. It’s a challenge of being a switch-hitter. The at-bats aren’t really consistent from the right side, so you’re trying to make tweaks on the fly, but you’re not really getting the reps to understand if it’s working or not.”

This season, Happ struggles particularly with offspeed pitches from lefties. He faces a .072 wOBA and a 54% whiff rate versus changeups, a .239 wOBA and a 58.8% whiff rate off curveballs, and a .239 wOBA and a 36.6% whiff rate against sliders. Fastballs, on the other hand, see better results from Happ.

“If you’re doing a good job about being disciplined on offspeed early but then you’re down 0-1, 0-2, then it gets really tough,” Happ said. “That’s the challenging part of just continuing to make adjustments. I hit fastballs really well last year, so of course they’re going to throw me more offspeed pitches and when you don’t capitalize on the fastballs you get in the zone, you feel like you’re playing catch-up.”

Counsell is aware of Happ’s predicament. He understands that more right-handed at-bats might help Happ find his rhythm. Nonetheless, the reality of limited opportunities remains.

“That’s the hard part,” Counsell said. “It’s the hard part for any player who’s maybe getting less at-bats somewhere is that you need the at-bats to get on track, but you’re going to get less and so that’s real. That’s how it’s going to be so I don’t have a great answer for that. Essentially it ends up being the practice in the cage and then when you’re going to get some chances you’ve got to do something with the chances or be productive in those opportunities.”

Despite the challenges, Happ has demonstrated resilience in late-game situations. Following a key home run in the eighth inning on Friday, which contributed to the Cubs forcing extra innings against the Mariners, he boasts a 1.048 OPS in late and close-game scenarios this year.

Happ attributes this success to his in-game preparation and a focused approach. He emphasizes discipline in pitch selection and understanding how relievers will try to challenge him.

“It’s being pretty disciplined to a pitch you want to hit,” Happ said. “And I’m pretty committed to it and understanding in those situations late-inning relievers are going to throw all their best stuff, if you can be disciplined enough to get yourself into a count where you’re going to get something you can handle.”