Let’s Talk About Michael Busch As A Legitimate Piece To This Cubs Team
It’s never easy to replace a franchise pillar in Anthony Rizzo, but Michael Busch is sure making his case right now.
All he needed was an opportunity.
Buried in a deep Dodgers organization, Busch never got a prolonged opportunity to showcase his talent. However, the Cubs, who passed on Busch in favor of pitcher Ryan Jensen in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft, were able to lure him away from Los Angeles in an offseason trade.
“He fit the profile of a need that we had,” Cubs GM Carter Hawkins said via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “We knew that he was a player that was going to be available, and we knew he was really good — but the Dodgers knew he was really good and weren’t going to give him away.”
The 26-year-old is slashing .271/.357/.466 with 19 doubles, 12 home runs, and 36 RBI in 91 games entering the All-Star break this season. Among qualified first basemen, Busch ranks fourth in OPS (.823), wOBA (.356), and wRC+ (132). He also boasts the third-best walk percentage (11.6%).
Busch’s 31.0% strikeout rate is higher than folks would like to see, but that is largely ballooned by his first two months of the season, where he struck out in 34.5% of his at-bats. If July is any indication, where Busch has registered a 20.0% strikeout rate thus far, that overall number should level out to a more acceptable value by year’s end.
“The challenge part of it I love,” Busch said. “I’ve been happy with the adjustments in my career, dating back to high school and college and pro ball. I think I can continue that here.”
If Busch is lacking anywhere in his Cubs tenure, it’s his hard-hit rate of 37.7%, placing him in the lower half of qualified MLB first basemen. That said, he is a solid line-drive hitter, with his 22.6% line-drive rate the third-best in the league. That number is more in-line with his minor league statistics and not the 8.7% he registered in a limited role with the Dodgers last year.
Simply put, batted balls are finding grass, as his .374 BABIP, which paces all MLB first basemen, would suggest.
It’s not just his bat that is shining, either.
Busch’s play at first base has improved as the 2024 season has unfolded. Lately, it feels like he has been making all the defensive highlights, and the numbers are backing that theory.
Despite logging just 670.0 innings at first — 15th most among qualified MLB first basemen — Busch has registered the second-best best defensive runs saved (5) and tied with Arizona’s Christian Walker for the best Plus/Minus Runs saved above average (6).
Not bad for a player who was described as a ‘bat-only prospect with a well-rounded offensive skill set’ in Spring Training.
“Michael is just a consistent player and a consistent person,” Counsell said via The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney. “That’s going to benefit him really well in a season where he’s on a roller-coaster ride. That’s what baseball seasons do to you. They kind of put you on this ride. But Michael’s personality — and his game, period — is going to be able to even some of those challenges out. As you do that and go through the ups and the downs, it builds your confidence.”
We also have to remember that Busch played wherever he could to get at-bats in Los Angeles. Whether at the big league or minor league level, he seemed to slot in in the outfield and at second or third base. Busch recorded just 10.0 innings of work at first base with the Dodgers.
Not nearly enough time to make adjustments and improve, nor determine any reasonable takeaways for the player that he might be with the Cubs this year. But he is proving himself now and for the future.
Busch does not become arbitration-eligible until 2027 and a free agent until after the 2029 season. That kind of team control comes with opportunity. If he continues to make good on his playing time, Busch will certainly be in line for a well-deserved pay increase next year.
It will also be one less position of need for the Cubs to address in the offseason as they continue to trend towards becoming a legitimate contender once again.
