Comments on: Ian Happ and the Cubs Draft Strategy

By: JIM

JIM — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 19:38:04 +0000

the jump in strikeouts may have been a result of the rest of his lineup being young. he had to be more aggressive in certain situations than normal. still managed to walk as much as he struck out.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 17:17:22 +0000

My concern as well. There was a study done a few years back looking at the significance of college K%. Even for high picks, anything > 18% meant very, very low odds of contributing in the majors. > 22% meant no shot. The hope is that Happ can revert back to his freshman-year approach while continuing to add game power; his 2014 Cape Cod numbers are more promising than his 2015 college peripherals (which include an absurdly high BABIP, btw).

By: David Blumberg

David Blumberg — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 20:29:43 +0000

We have plenty of data out there to suggest that college performance is only tangentially tied to what a player does in the pro ranks. Players are, clearly, still developing and there’s simply no way to know what the end result will be. For some, a high K rate is the result of a lack of proper pitch recognition. For others, it is something mechanical. Happ was the player available at 9 who most resembles the strategy the Cubs have been utilizing in the Epstein-Hoyer era, 20% K rate or not.

By: Norm

Norm — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 13:12:14 +0000

I have a hard time with the “pure hitter” tag on Happ. He struck out in about 20% of his PA this year. That’s A LOT for a college hitter.
Kris Bryant was only at about 15% – which translated into high 20’s in the Minors.