The Chicago Cubs took a bit of a gamble on Michael Busch.
Prior to the 2024 season, the Cubs traded two very well-regarded lower-level prospects– pitcher Jackson Ferris and outfielder Zyhir Hope– to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Busch and reliever Yency Almonte.
Busch was also a well-regarded prospect at the time, but he was considered a jack-of-all-trades infielder without any place to play on the loaded Dodgers major league squad. The Cubs, meanwhile, had him pegged as their first baseman of the future, despite never having been a full-time first baseman at any level he’d played.
That gamble has paid off.
Michael Busch Has Become A Top-Tier First Baseman
The 27-year-old has worked his way into a spot as one of the better first baseman in the league, after a rookie year that saw him take huge leaps in development, almost immediately.
With the bat, the left-handed hitting Busch has also shown progression from a very solid rookie year.
So far the season, he’s slashing .306/.375/.583 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs in just 21 games.
And while former Cubs prospects Ferris and Hope are doing really well for themselves in the Dodgers farm system, Busch’s development and his easing into recognition as a top-tier first baseman makes the losses a mere side note.
“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,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told media this past Tuesday, after a red-hot 8-for-19 West Coast road trip that saw Busch hit three home runs and drive in 6 runs. “He’s looking to drive the baseball, and I think that started to show up on the trip and hopefully keeps it going.”