Ian Happ has different take on Brewers jockeying with Cubs at top of MLB: 'Great for the division'

If any other top-10 team held the best record in the majors over the second-place Cubs, their position would be seen as an unmarred success through the first 102 games of the season, a strong platform for a squad with lofty playoff aspirations.

But it was the Brewers (61-41) who held a one-game lead entering Thursday.

Yes, the Brewers needed an 11-game winning streak to close the gap. And they won’t maintain the breakneck pace they’ve been on in the last 2½ weeks. But they’ve proved to be worrisome competition for the National League Central title.

Cubs left fielder Ian Happ, who has been battling the Brewers as a division rival longer than anyone on the roster, had a different take on the situation.

“As somebody who’s played in the NL Central a long time, I think it’s generally overlooked before the season starts,” he said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. “And you have right now, the two best records in baseball sitting at the top of the division. So it’s cool. That’s great for the division.”

Happ also acknowledged the Reds and Cardinals for their above-.500 records and the Pirates for their pitching staff.

The Brewers, however, are the most glaring example of outperforming expectations. It was a hallmark of the club when now-Cubs manager Craig Counsell was at the helm. And it certainly has continued under Pat Murphy.

Over the last two years, the Brewers have lost hitting and pitching stars to trades and free agency. But in 2024, they won the division by a 10-game margin. And this season, they’ve kept up with the Cubs, who made significant improvements to their roster.

“Maybe the league or the media is not doing a very good job of evaluating them before the season starts,” Happ said. “They’re always good. They find a way to pitch great. That’s the one thing — they’ve always pitched it great.”

That reputation has held up. Freddy Peralta has continued his reign as a top-of-the-rotation staple for the Brewers. And Brandon Woodruff, who missed last season because of shoulder surgery, has a 1.65 ERA since his return.

Supplementing that veteran presence, the Brewers have young talent such as rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski, who was named an All-Star only five starts into his major-league career, and Quinn Priester, a Cary-Grove product who took a big step forward in his third major-league season.

The Brewers’ bullpen, anchored by closer Trevor Megill, who made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 2021, ranks among the top 10 in the majors by WAR.

“And they find a way to steal bases, they play good defense, and so they’re always in games, and they find a way to win,” Happ said. “That’s impressive.”

There also have been some surprises among the position players. Rookie Caleb Durbin has hit .311 in the last two months, the third-best mark among major-league third basemen in that span. Andrew Vaughn has caught fire since being traded from the White Sox, to the tune of a .943 OPS.

Still, with the Brewers’ track record, why were they overlooked again?

“It’s a little bit of a smaller market — and the way they do it,” Happ said. “People get excited about power and home runs and big lineups before the season starts. . . . Going into the year, people don’t get excited about teams that are going to pitch it really well out of the bullpen and always be in close games.

“We’ve always had a lot of respect for them, the way they play and the discipline and the way that they play defense and run the bases. Seen it for a long time, not surprised by it.”

It’s far too early for scoreboard-watching. That’s a common sentiment around the Cubs’ clubhouse. The NL Central heavyweights also still have eight games against each other.

Playing the Sox (37-66) this weekend, the Cubs have an opportunity to potentially hop the Brewers again before they face off in Milwaukee next week.

“It’ll be a great atmosphere,” Happ said. “We’re going up there just trying to play our game and good baseball. And I think there’ll be a lot of noise around it. But we’re just gonna play another series in July.”