This year, Cubs’ first baseman, Michael Busch, has slowly become one of the most underrated players in the league. His performance this year at the plate has given an already powerful lineup a boost. His bat, along with Kyle Tucker’s, Seiya Suzuki’s, and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s, makes up some of the best in the MLB. However, Busch this season is being wildly undervalued and not discussed by the media nearly enough.
Should Michael Busch Be an All-Star?
Michael Busch’s Past
Michael Busch is a twenty-seven-year-old in his third year in the MLB. Busch played in 27 games for the Dodgers in 2023, then was traded in January of 2024 to the Cubs. This trade was very underwhelming, involving only low-level players and prospects. Last year for the Cubs, Busch was a very solid player, but nothing too spectacular. He played in 152 games and slashed .248/.335/.440 along with 21 home runs. This production was greatly appreciated by the Cubs, especially from a player with very little experience. This gave many Cubs fans high expectations for Busch this year and he has certainly lived up to them.
Busch’s Breakout Year
To begin the 2025 season, Michael Busch didn’t have the hottest start. First of all, he wasn’t necessarily their everyday first baseman. While he had the starting role for the majority of the games, the Cubs offseason acquisition, Justin Turner, got some run at first base. Up until very recently, Justin Turner started every game against a left-handed starting pitcher. While Busch hasn’t been spectacular against lefties this year, there isn’t a big sample size. He is hitting .171 but in only 41 at bats. On the contrary, Michael Busch has destroyed right-handed pitching this year. In 230 at-bats against righties, he has an OPS of 1.005. As a whole, Busch has been not only good but one of the best first basemen in the league. He has the highest OPS among all MLB first basemen and has the second most home runs among National League first basemen despite having 62 fewer at-bats than Pete Alonso, the leader.
This year, Michael Busch has a slash line of .293/.377/.562 with 18 home runs. He has been spectacular and has been heating up as of late. In his last 15 games, he has an average of .415, and an OPS of 1.296 to go along with seven home runs. He has arguably been one of the hottest players in baseball. And while his problem early in the year was hitting lefties, he may have fixed that. In his last two games, he is 3/4 with 2 home runs against lefties. If Busch starts to get more at-bats against left-handed pitching, he is likely to get more used to it and more comfortable with it as a whole.
An All-Star Nod?
With Michael Busch’s recent production, he has a serious case for the all-star game. While Freddie Freeman was already selected as the first base starter in the National League, Busch could still be a reserve. First of all, Michael Busch has the highest wRC+ among all first basemen at 162. Not only that, but between the other top two NL first basemen, Freddie Freeman and Pete Alonso, he has the highest SLG, OPS, and OPS+. Additionally, as mentioned above, he is only two home runs behind Pete Alonso despite having 80 fewer plate appearances. He also has eight more than Freddie Freeman in 13 fewer plate appearances. Even though Michael Busch may not be receiving as much media coverage as deserves, he should very well be the second option at first base in this year’s All-Star Game.
Main Photo Credits: David Banks-Imagn Images
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