Happ promoted to Major Leagues

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (May 13, 2017) - Former Myrtle Beach Pelicans infielder/outfielder Ian Happ has been promoted to the Chicago Cubs and will make his major league debut on Saturday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Happ will be the 159th former Pelican to reach The Show, including the fourth this season and the first from Myrtle Beach's 2016 championship team.
Rated by MLB.com as the No. 2 prospect in Chicago's organization and the 23rd in all of baseball, Happ is slated to bat second and play right field in the Cubs' 4:05 p.m. ET Saturday game at the St. Louis Cardinals.

The ninth overall pick by Chicago out of the University of Cincinnati in 2015, Happ batted .296/.410/.475 with 16 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 42 RBIs in 69 games last season with the Pelicans. The Pittsburgh native was named a Carolina League All-Star, twice earning the circuit's Player of the Week honors. He received a promotion on June 23 to Double-A Tennessee, where he hit .262/.318/.415 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 65 games.
A switch-hitting infielder and outfielder, Happ began the 2017 campaign with Triple-A Iowa, slashing .298/.362/.615 with six doubles, nine home runs and 25 RBIs in 26 games. The nine home runs rank in a tie for fifth in all of Minor League Baseball.
Happ is the fourth Myrtle Beach alumnus to reach The Show for the first time in 2017, and the first from the Pelicans' 2016 title squad. He joins infielder/outfielders Drew Robinson (Texas) and Chris Bostick (Pittsburgh), and left-handed pitcher Chad Bell (Detroit) in making their major league debuts this season. Both Bostick (May 8) and Bell (May 10) made their first big league appearance this week.
The Pelicans are in the midst of a seven-game homestand. Saturday's 7:05 p.m. contest against the Lynchburg Hillcats is Military Appreciation Night, with the first 1,000 fans receiving a Veteran Card Set giveaway, courtesy of Embrace Hospice. The Pelicans will also wear commemorative military jerseys that will be raffled off to veterans during the game. Tickets are still available on www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Tickets.
The 2017 season is the 19th season for the Pelicans franchise and third as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2017, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The park has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last six seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last six years and the best in the Carolina League for six straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the two-time defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 and 2016 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made ten postseason appearances behind 12 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season and second half of 2016. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].