Benny Sieu - USA Today Sports
Benny Sieu - USA Today Sports

Ian Happ ranked as a top ten left fielder in MLB


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January 18, 2023 – Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ was ranked ninth on MLB Now’s Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now! last night. The 2022 MLB All-Star Happ, who makes his debut on the best left fielders list, finished one spot ahead of the Chicago White Sox’s Eloy Jiménez and one spot behind five-time MLB All-Star Michael Brantley of the Houston Astros.

On last night’s countdown, 2017 World Series champion and MLB Network analyst Cameron Maybin said, “I love a guy that’s available and for Ian Happ, him being on the field for his team when they were down, struggling, a lot of young guys coming up, it was impressive to see what he was able to do. And for me, he really improved off the right side of the plate this year, which was phenomenal to see, as well as winning the Gold Glove. It’s not easy to play left field in Chicago at Wrigley so seeing what he was able to do, he continues to walk a ton. I mean this guy is an on-base machine.”

Hosted by MLB Network’s Brian Kenny alongside MLB Network analysts, each Top 10 Right Now! ranking considers player performance over the last three seasons, offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced Statcast data and traditional numbers, and expert analysis by the MLB Network research team.

The complete ranking for MLB Now’s top-10 left fielders is listed below, available at mlb.com/top10rightnow and a recap on Happ can be seen here:

Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now!

1. Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros

2. Juan Soto, San Diego Padres

3. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies

4. Taylor Ward, Los Angeles Angels

5. Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays

6. Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians

7. Tyler O’Neill, St. Louis Cardinals

8. Michael Brantley, Houston Astros

9. Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs

10. Eloy Jiménez, Chicago White Sox

Now in its 13th season, MLB Now’s Top 10 Right Now! series features analysis from MLB Network on-air personalities and roundtable discussions with former SABR President Vince Gennaro, MLB.com analyst Mike Petriello, and MLB.com writer and editor Sarah Langs.

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