Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch’s slugging ability doesn’t necessarily make him an obvious choice to lead off.
The left-handed-hitting Busch has taken another step forward in his development this year, which has included raising his on-base percentage by nearly 40 points entering Friday’s series opener against the White Sox compared with last season. When manager Craig Counsell earlier this month decided to drop slumping switch hitter Ian Happ out of the leadoff spot in the lineup, he moved up Nico Hoerner to bat there versus left-handed starters but ideally wanted a lefty in that spot against right-handed starters.
Busch, 27, became Counsell’s choice when the Cubs have opposed lefties. Counsell credited Busch for sticking to what makes him successful.
“Michael’s just been a good hitter, period, and we moved him in the spot, and he just hadn’t changed anything in terms of how he’s conducting his at-bat and his approach,” Counsell said Friday at Rate Field. “Hitting No. 1 is seemingly the one spot that can make guys do that a little bit.
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“You’re leadoff hitter once a night, and then just be yourself, and he’s done a good job of that.”
Friday marked his fifth start as the Cubs leadoff hitter. White Sox right-hander Adrian Houser hit Busch with a 1-1 sinker to open the game. In Busch’s four previous starts at the top of the lineup, he went 4-for-16 (.250) with two home runs, two RBIs, one walk, five strikeouts and a .333 on-base percentage.
“Stepping into the box, I’ve always told myself no matter where I’m at, no matter what at-bat, just have a good one,” Busch said Friday.
Coming off a great rookie season following an offseason trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers to Chicago, Busch has established himself as one of the best power hitters in baseball, even though he was not named an All-Star this year. Busch’s 155 wRC+ and .391 wOBA — both best on the Cubs — each rank seventh in the majors and is the best among first basemen.
Part of Busch’s improved power numbers stem from cutting down on his strikeout rate, which is currently 5.3% lower than in 2024. He’s not getting beat as much against offspeed stuff and producing damage on those pitch types when he makes contact, yielding a ridiculous .760 slugging percentage. Overall, Busch has improved his exit velocity by nearly 2 mph.
Going into the offseason, the Cubs talked with Busch about keeping his bat a little flatter while not moving his hands as much, taking more chances and being a little more aggressive.
“He’s always had great strike-zone discipline, he’s always done a really good job of controlling the zone, but we knew that there was more in there for him to take some chances,” hitting coach Dustin Kelly told the Tribune. “And I think going into this year, knowing that he can impact the ball on both sides of the plate, the top half was always a little bit of a struggle for him. He’s doing a much better job of managing that top half, but we’re seeing him drive balls on the outer lane that he didn’t do last year.”
Hitting for average isn’t valued the same way in the big leagues compared with 10 years ago, but Busch has shown he’s more than a power machine. His .284 average is right behind contact-hitter Hoerner (.286) for the best on the Cubs and ranks fourth among National League first basemen, becoming an impressive part of Busch’s game.
“He’s swinging at pitches that he knows that he can hit hard and do damage on so his batted ball is really good,” Kelly said. “He hits the ball hard, he gets the ball high, and we just knew that if he swung at more pitches in the zone and didn’t take as many, that the results would be really good. And we’re seeing that right now.”
Injury updates
Less than one week until Thursday’s trade deadline, the Cubs are expected to find ways to add to a pitching staff that has dealt with injuries over the last four months, especially to the rotation.
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The group is collectively starting to get back to full strength.
Right-hander Javier Assad hasn’t pitched this season because of a reaggravation of an oblique injury that he initially suffered in early February. He will make his first rehab start for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday. Right-hander Jameson Taillon (right calf strain) threw a bullpen Friday at Wrigley Field. He had been scheduled to throw to hitters, but that plan had to be altered because a stage was being set up in the outfield for Saturday night’s concert, K-pop group ATEEZ. Taillon will throw live batting practice in Milwaukee then go to Iowa for a rehab assignment.
Reliever Porter Hodge (right shoulder impingement) is slated to start a rehab assignment with Iowa on Saturday.
Catcher Miguel Amaya (oblique) is also nearing a return. He is expected to spend the weekend in Arizona and be active for Iowa on Tuesday.