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David Ross Anoints ‘Real Deal’ Ian Happ Everyday CF, Raising Questions About Bench Depth

Ian Happ for everyday center fielder, who says no?

Happ’s demotion and subsequent prolonged stay at Triple-A Iowa last year had a few naysayers, and maybe even a Pollyanna or three, questioning whether he’d ever figure it out. Though the converted outfielder was admittedly upset about the assignment, he soon realized the only way out was to improve the holes in his swing and develop a better B-hack. In case you’re not hip to baseball parlance, that’s a shortened secondary swing for use in two-strike counts.

“It’s a retooling of his swing more than anything,” minor-league hitting coordinator Chris Valaika told Sahadev Sharma last year.