The Chicago Cubs really, really needed Michael Busch to break out of his slump
The Chicago Cubs are riding high on an eight-game winning streak as of this writing and have pulled themselves up from the cellar of the NL Central Division into second place, just a half-game behind the surprising Cincinnati Reds.
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Everything seems to be going well at the moment. The pitching staff is performing tremendously, the defense is superb, the offense has woken up, and the coaching has been superb. During this streak—the Cubs’ longest winning streak in April since 1970—the team has posted an insane 58-20 run differential.
There are so many names that Cubs fans are glad to have fully alive and kicking right now, but Michael Busch has to be way up on that list.
The Chicago first baseman has been an underappreciated asset to the team since coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a January, 2024 trade. Last season, especially, was a welcomed revelation as he hit .261 and smacked 34 home runs with 90 RBIs while playing Gold Glove-level defense.
As the team headed into 2026, everyone was eager to see the left-handed hitting 28-year-old pick up right where he left off and, possibly, even outdo himself.
But then, nothing.
Busch’s alarming mega-slump
After a 3-for-4 Opening Day, Busch went straight into slumpville, going 3-for-47 (.063) with not a single extra base hit during that time. It got so bad that manager Craig Counsell pulled one of his patented moves and “rested” him for a mental reset.
The reset seemed to work, though, because Busch pulled himself out of the doldrums after that. Since his April 12 “rest” day, he’s gone 10-for-34 (.294) and has posted 4 of his 6 RBIs during that run. On Wednesday, against the Philadelphia Phillies, he hit his first home run of the year—a solo shot in the third inning off Taijuan Walker to put the Cubs ahead 4-2.
All of this is tremendously good news for the Cubs as they really don’t have anyone else to put into the first base slot.
He’s the only first baseman they have
When right-handed backup Tyler Austin went down with a knee injury in spring training, Chicago lost their only real backup to Busch. While guys like Miguel Amaya, Moises Ballesteros, Matt Shaw, and Ian Happ could fill the spot in an absolute pinch, there’s nobody else on the roster who can play everyday first base. The closest the Cubs have to a backup is currently in Triple-A Iowa, in the form of 24-year-old prospect Jonathon Long.
That makes Busch pretty indispensable for this team at the moment. So, it’s a really good thing that he seems to be coming around.
“I think, for us, we’re clicking on all cylinders,” Busch told Marquee Sports Network right after the Cubs won their Wednesday night game, as “Go Cubs Go” blared. “I think, one through nine, guys hitting off the bench, we’re just having really good at bats. Driving the ball, walking, putting the ball in play. We’re also pitching really well and playing a lot of defense, and running the bases as we do. So, all the things are clicking right now. We just gotta keep it going.”
The post The Chicago Cubs really, really needed Michael Busch to break out of his slump appeared first on ChiCitySports.
Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-michael-busch-slump-first-base/
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