Michael Busch Has Been a Huge Addition for the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs had a lot of needs to fill during the offseason. One of those needs was first base, and they filled it by trading for Michael Busch. It seems they have made the right move as Michael Busch is beginning to look like an early favorite for Rookie of the Year.

The trade for Michael Busch was a big one. Chicago did not quite know how good he would be, but they knew he had a lot of potential. This was evident by the prospects they had to give up just to acquire Busch from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Busch does seem to be living up to the hype, though. He has become a regular at first base and in the lineup, and should be an everyday player moving forward.

Michael Busch in 2023 with the Dodgers

Busch was called up by the Dodgers, but did not live up to what he was able to do at Triple-A. In 27 games with Los Angeles, Busch hit just .167/.247/.292 with two home runs, and seven RBI. Along with that, Busch had an OPS of just .539, and wOBA of .241.

Needless to say, Busch had a season to forget in 2023.

Along with those stats, Busch found the barrel just 6.5 percent of the time, had an average exit velocity under 90 mph, and his strikeout rate was 33.3 percent. With those numbers, it is easy to see why Busch had such a low batting average and OPS.

On the defensive side of the ball, Busch played mainly third base, but had some time at second, and first base. He did have his misfortunes at the hot corner, though. His OAA was -4, and had a 61 percent success rate. In total, Busch had a 63 percent success rate at all three positions combined. He did not live up to the standards set in Los Angeles, but the change of scenery was good for him

Michael Busch in 2024 with the Cubs

Busch became an instant hit in Chicago. In fact, Busch hit his first home run as a Cub against his former team at Wrigley Field, which had to feel good. On the season so far, Busch has played 17 games, hit six home runs, driven in 12, and his OPS is north of 1.000.

Even more impressively, Busch has a wOBA of .453, a 20.5 barrel percentage, an average exit velocity just over 93 mph, and his strikeout rate is down while his walk rate has gone up. The Cubs have done something right with Busch as all of his numbers have improved in his short time with the team.

One more impressive accomplishment for Busch was what he just did. From April 10-15, Busch homered in every single game. His five-game home run streak was the fifth time someone has done that in Chicago Cubs history.