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Chicago Cubs may call up top prospect Ian Happ today (UPDATE: He’s up!)

By Dan Schmelzer

Mar 20, 2017; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Ian Happ (86) hits a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2017; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Ian Happ (86) hits a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Cubs are reportedly considering calling up top prospect Ian Happ today.

We talked earlier about the roster crunch the Chicago Cubs are currently working through. They already have an eight-man bullpen which leaves their bench relatively short. Kris Bryant did not play yesterday and is not expected to take the field on Saturday because of an illness. On top of that, outfielder Jon Jay is day-to-day with a back injury and shortstop Addison Russell is dealing with a sore shoulder.

None of these issues are expected to be long-term worries but they are putting the Cubs in a short-term crunch. Calling up a position player to help with these short-term issues would certainly make some sense. And according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com, the Cubs are swinging for the fences with their call-up.

Let’s be clear here, Muskat said that Ian Happ “may be added” to the Cubs’ roster. This is far from a sure thing, but it is certainly interesting.

Happ is a sweet-swinging switch hitter who plays second base and corner outfield. He is considered by most to be the top prospect in the Cubs’ system and a top 30 prosp[ect or so in the entire game.

Happ tore the cover off of the ball in Spring Training, hitting an impressive .383/.441/.750 in 60 at-bats. He built upon his strong start to the season by hitting .298/.362/.615 in his first stint at Triple-A.

Simply put, Happ can swing the bat extremely well and would undoubtedly be a strong addition to the Cubs’ lineup. He has a bright future at the big league level, whether it is with the Cubs or another organization.

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We will wait for official confirmation from the team before getting too excited. But if Happ is inserted into the lineup, Saturday’s afternoon matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals will instantly become must watch.

UPDATE

Happ has indeed been called up and the Cubs get him into the lineup right away.

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