Top 10 Cubs building blocks: No. 7 Michael Busch
Jed Hoyer and the Cubs are heading into a pivotal offseason. After 4 straight years without a trip to the playoffs, Hoyer and Co. are looking to build a roster that can get the franchise back into October. As they work to enhance this group, we are analyzing the Top 10 building blocks already on the Cubs roster. Next up: Michael Busch.
This was one of the most diffcult players on this list to rank.
There is a reasonable case to be made that Michael Busch should be higher on the list of Top 10 Cubs building blocks given a variety of factors:
-He is young, having just finished his rookie season and turning 27 in November.
-He is under team control through the 2029 season, so it is likely he will be on the next Cubs playoff team – whenever that happens.
-Busch is also cost-controlled, as he will make under $1 million as a pre-arbitration player over the next 2 seasons.
-He is a powerful left-handed hitter who draws walks at a high clip and could wind up hitting in the middle of the Cubs order for years to come.
-He played strong defense at a new position (first base) in 2024 and there are some within the organization that believe he will one day win a Gold Glove at first.
When talking about building blocks, those check a plethora of important boxes.
But there is one thing working against Busch: He is simply more unproven than the rest of the players above him on this list. The only exception is fellow rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong (who ranks 1st), but Busch is 4 years older than Crow-Armstrong and given the latter’s elite defense and speed, the floor simply isn’t as high for Busch.
We don’t yet know what Busch’s ceiling will be, either. But there is certainly reason for optimism after he hit 21 homers, racked up 2.3 fWAR, walked at an elite clip (11.1%) and played very good defense while posting an OPS 18% above league average.
[WATCH: Is the Cubs offense in a good spot entering the offseason?]
He will need to cut down on his strikeouts (28.6% whiff rate) but the Cubs have been searching for a left-handed bat long-term and Busch certainly fits the bill. He spent a good chunk of the season hitting in the prime No. 2 spot in the order and with his on-base skills and power, he could slot anywhere in the lineup.
Busch also performed well against left-handed pitching with a higher batting average against southpaws (.258) than righties (.246) along with a .330 OBP. However, he displayed significantly more power against righties (20 homers in 467 plate appearances) than lefties (1 homer in 100 plate appearances).
The Cubs as a team struggled to find consistent offense at Wrigley Field and Busch was a key component of that. He hit .280/.366/.489 (.855 OPS) on the road but just .211/.299/.384 (.683 OPS) at home.
[MORE: Are the Cubs set up to be a playoff team in 2025?]
All things considered, the Cubs believe the arrow is pointing straight up for Busch and it’s entirely possible he shoots up toward the top of this list a year from now.
“Really impressive rookie year,” Jed Hoyer said at the end of the season. “I would start on his defense — after some initial struggles in April, kind of getting back to playing first base — I mean, I think he’s gonna win Gold Gloves at first. I think he was outstanding over there.
“Offensively, he ended up with a .775 OPS as a rookie, which is really impressive. And he really struggled at Wrigley. So I think that, if you actually look at his numbers, he probably had an even better year than it appears when you factor in the park factors and everything.
“And just his demeanor, the way he conducts himself on a daily basis. Every veteran that came in and did an exit meeting with us talked about how impressive he was. That was a as good a rookie year as we could have expected.”
Top 10 Cubs building blocks
1. Pete Crow-Armstrong
2. Justin Steele
3. Shota Imanaga
4. Dansby Swanson
5. Seiya Suzuki
6. Ian Happ
7. Michael Busch
8. Oct. 30
9. Oct. 31
10. Nov. 1
Honorable mentions: Nov. 4