When Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch gets on a roll, it tends to be at a level that can carry the offense.
The Cubs witnessed it last year at this time when he slugged a home run in six consecutive games during a three-city swing to San Diego, Seattle and Phoenix, providing the first look of the type of power Busch can possess against big-league pitching. Busch provided a big boost during the Cubs’ 3-3 trip to Los Angeles and San Diego, at one point in a four-game stretch against two of the best teams in baseball going 8-for-19 (.421) with three doubles, three home runs and six RBIs versus the Dodgers and Padres.
“He’s the king of the West Coast, it’s amazing,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday. “Every year we come out here, he starts killing it. He’s been remarkable against right-handed pitching. He had a little blip in the beginning of the year, but he locked in kind of Day 1.
“He’s making such good decisions at the plate, he gives himself a chance every at-bat and he’s looking to do damage, which I love,” Hoyer said. “He’s looking to drive the baseball, and I think that started to show up on the trip and hopefully keeps it going.”
Whether Busch has formally requested the Cubs always play on the West Coast this time of year, he grinned and put a finger to his lip, “Shhhh.”
Busch, 27, ranks among the best offensive first baseman in MLB as he begins his second full season in the majors. He ranks fifth in slugging percentage (.567) and Isolated Power (.284) and sixth in fWAR (0.6), wOBA (.401), and wRC+ (161).
Busch has shown a willingness to be more aggressive this year, resulting in an uptick of first-pitch contact in the zone.
“When you’re getting pitches to hit and you’re hitting them and you’re putting them forward, usually good things happen,” Busch said Wednesday. “When things don’t go well, just kind of looking back and maybe instead of it being a swing adjustment or mechanical change, it’s more of getting somebody in the zone and not missing a pitch.
“For me being confident enough to, no matter who’s on the mound, I’ve got a pretty good chance, but also being humble enough to understand that the guy might have it that day and he might be spotting up and he might be nasty, and just trying to maybe simplify things a little more, but playing that game throughout the season is definitely important.”
Busch believes he also has benefitted from a Cubs lineup that largely has been collectively on a roll through the first three weeks. Having Seiya Suzuki or Kyle Tucker hitting in front of him certainly doesn’t hurt. The Cubs have been a top-five offense despite frigid conditions during their first homestand last week and a tough schedule that has pitted them against some of the best teams in the big leagues. It’s an encouraging trend as the Cubs look to avoid falling into the weekslong slump that has derailed their last two seasons.
For as strong of a start Busch has gotten off to, the Cubs have largely platooned him at first base. Entering Friday, Busch had only seven plate appearances against lefties with one hit — a double — one walk and three strikeouts. Hoyer said it’s not an ability-related decision, that the Cubs “definitely” believe Busch can hit lefties. The reason is more big-picture focused after bringing in veteran Justin Turner.
“Giving Justin days to play, I think that if we’re going to expect Justin to take a big at-bat in the eighth inning we need him to be playing and ready to go,” Hoyer said. “The more we can give guys good matchups and where we can rest guys then the better they’ll be later on.”
The exciting part for the Cubs is that Busch is still coming into his own at the big-league level and has room to improve, especially as he looks to be more consistent in limiting the slumps, often one of the hardest challenges for a hitter. Getting to watch Tucker, whose career-high 19-game on-base streak ended Wednesday, and the consistency within each at-bat is something Busch knows he can learn from.
“No matter the situation, no matter whether it’s his fourth at-bat, no matter if he had four hits, zero hits, just the consistency of the at-bat and getting guys in the zone and swinging at good pitches and getting a good swing off, all those things — there’s a reason he’s a really good, gifted hitter, Busch said. “But he also is top of the line because of the little things that he does really well that sometimes I think might go overlooked.
“He’s got a God-given ability to do this, but to do it at the level that he’s doing it at it takes simplicity but also being very aware of your swing and he does the little things really well.”
