Michael Busch (baseball)

For the baseball player born 1968, see Mike Busch (baseball). For other people named Michael Busch, see Michael Busch.
Michael Busch
Busch with the Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2023
Chicago Cubs – No. 29
First baseman
Born: (1997-11-09) November 9, 1997 (age 27)
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 6, 2023, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.238
Home runs23
Runs batted in72
Teams

Michael James Busch (born November 9, 1997) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Dodgers.

Amateur career

Busch attended Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, where he played football, hockey and baseball.[1] He was ranked as the fourth-best player in the state of Minnesota by Perfect Game.[2] During his senior baseball season, Busch was an All-State selection.[3] Undrafted out of high school in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina to play college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels.[4]

In 2017, as a freshman at North Carolina, Busch appeared in 55 games, hitting .215 with three home runs and 22 RBIs.[5] After the season, he played in the Northwoods League for the St. Cloud Rox.[6] As a sophomore in 2018, Busch started all 64 of North Carolina's games, batting .317 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs.[7] He batted .636 during the NCAA tournament's Chapel Hill Regional and was named the Most Outstanding Player,[8] helping lead North Carolina to the 2018 College World Series.[9] He was named to the All-ACC Second Team.[10] Following the season, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Chatham Anglers, where batted .322 with six home runs in 27 games and was named to the All-Cape League Team.[11][12] Prior to the 2019 season, Busch was named a preseason All-American by multiple media outlets, including Perfect Game and Baseball America.[13][14] Over 65 games, he batted .284 with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs.[4]

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, Busch was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 31st overall pick.[15][16] He signed with the Dodgers on July 5 for a $2.31 million bonus.[17] He appeared in ten games in the Dodgers farm system in 2019, split between the Arizona League Dodgers and Great Lakes Loons, and had three hits in 24 at-bats, batting .125/.371/.125.[4]

Busch played for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League following the season, and had 13 at bats.[18] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

For the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Tulsa Drillers.[20] In June, Busch was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field.[21] Busch appeared in 107 games for the Drillers, hitting .267 with twenty home runs and 67 RBIs, while primarily playing second base.[4] He was selected as a post-season Double-A Central All-Star.[22] He returned to Tulsa to begin the 2022 season.[23] After batting .306 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs over 31 games he was promoted to the Oklahoma City Dodgers,[24] where he hit .266 in 111 games with 21 homers and 79 RBIs; he primarily played second base for the two teams.[25]

On November 15, 2022, the Dodgers added Busch to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[26] He was optioned to Oklahoma City to begin the 2023 season.[27] He was called up to the majors for the first time on April 25 and made his debut as the designated hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[28] He was selected as the organizations Minor League Player of the Year[29] after he hit .323 with 27 home runs and 90 RBI in 98 games for Oklahoma City,[4] helping them win the Pacific Coast League (PCL) championship.[30] In 2023 in Triple A he played primarily third base (61 games) and second base (26 games).[31] He was honored after the season as the MVP and Top Prospect of the PCL.[32]

In 2023 Busch played in 27 games in the majors, and hit .167/.247/.292 with two home runs and seven RBIs, with 27 strikeouts in 72 at bats. He played 13 games at third base, four at first base, one at second base, and eight at designated hitter.[33] His first major league hit was a single off of Johan Oviedo of the Pirates, and his first MLB home run was off Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians on August 24.[34][35]

Chicago Cubs

On January 11, 2024, Busch and Yency Almonte were traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope.[36][37] From April 10 to 15, Busch homered in five straight games, tying the longest streak by a Cub.[38] Over the season, he would spend most of his time at first base, only playing 18.1 innings at second and third base combined. Busch finished the season with 21 home runs and 65 RBI while slashing .248/.335/.440.[39]

References

  1. ^ "Even after rising to UNC baseball stardom, Michael Busch is still 'same exact kid'". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  2. ^ Game, Perfect. "Michael Busch". Perfect Game. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Tribune, Star. "No matter the sport, Simley's Busch likes to crank it up". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Michael Busch Amateur, College and Minor League Statistics and history". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "Michael Busch develops into a draft prospect". The 3rd Man In. January 15, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  6. ^ "2017 Northwoods League Top Prospects". Baseball America. August 24, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Doherty, Brennan. "Even after rising to UNC baseball stardom, Michael Busch is still 'same exact kid'". Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  8. ^ "Michael Busch Named Preseason Second Team All-American by Perfect Game". chapelboro.com. January 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  9. ^ Barnes, Greg. "Michael Busch Producing at the Plate". 247 Sports. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "NC State players, UNC coach earn top ACC baseball honors". The News & Observer. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  11. ^ "#33 Michael Busch - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "CCBL Announces 2018 All-Cape League Team". The Bourne Enterprise. August 17, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  13. ^ "Michael Busch Named Perfect Game All-American". Tar Heel Times. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  14. ^ "Michael Busch Selected a Preseason First Team All-American by Baseball America". chapelboro.com. January 28, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "2019 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  16. ^ "MLB Draft 2019: Dodgers draft Michael Busch from North Carolina in first round". SB Nation. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  17. ^ Byrne, Connor (July 5, 2019). "Dodgers Sign First-Rounder Michael Busch". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  18. ^ Jim Callis (October 7, 2019). "Hot-hitting Bohm aims to hone defense in AFL". MLB.com. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  19. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Canceled". June 30, 2020.
  20. ^ Stephen, Eric (March 5, 2021). "Dodgers roster: Michael Busch, Kody Hoese open 2021 in Double-A Tulsa". True Blue LA. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  21. ^ "Futures Game rosters are STACKED". MLB.com.
  22. ^ "Postseason All-Stars". milb.com. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  23. ^ @TulsaDrillers (April 5, 2022). "Returning favs, and players we can't wait for you to meet. Let's hear it for the 2022 Drillers! 👏👏👏" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Dodgers' Michael Busch: Rises to Triple-A". May 17, 2022.
  25. ^ "2022 Oklahoma City Dodgers". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  26. ^ Stephen, Eric (November 15, 2022). "Dodgers add Diego Cartaya, Michael Busch, Andy Pages, Jonny DeLuca to 40-man roster". SB Nation. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  27. ^ "Dodgers' Michael Busch: Optioned to minor-league camp". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  28. ^ "Dodgers call up No. 3 prospect Busch". mlb.com. April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  29. ^ Osborne, Cary (September 21, 2023). "Michael Busch and Kyle Hurt receive Dodgers' top Minor League honors". Dodger Insider. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  30. ^ Stephen, Eric (September 27, 2023). "Oklahoma City Dodgers win Pacific Coast League championship". SB Nation. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  31. ^ "Michael Busch Amateur, College, Fall & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  32. ^ Terranova, Rob (October 4, 2023). "The 2023 Triple-A All-Stars and award winners". milb.com. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  33. ^ "Michael Busch Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  34. ^ "Pirates vs Dodgers box score April 25, 2023". espn.com. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  35. ^ Stephen, Eric (August 24, 2023). "Kiké Hernández & Michael Busch power Dodgers over Guardians". SB Nation. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  36. ^ Toribio, Juan (January 11, 2024). "Dodgers get pair of high-upside prospects in trade with Cubs". mlb.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  37. ^ Rogers, Jesse (January 11, 2024). "Cubs acquire Michael Busch in 4-player trade with Dodgers". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  38. ^ "Michael Busch homers in 5th straight game, tying most by Cub". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  39. ^ "Michael Busch Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.