With Cubs' bats on fire, confident Busch a driving force?

CHICAGO -- The full-count fastball that D-backs starter Zac Gallen sent Michael Busch’s way in the second inning on Saturday veered up and out of the strike zone. The way the Cubs first baseman is swinging the bat right now, it did not matter.

Busch attacked the pitch and sliced the baseball high over left field, where it crashed into the second row of Wrigley Field’s bleacher seats to complete back-to-back home runs with Seiya Suzuki. One day after Chicago’s wild comeback win over Arizona, the Cubs’ lineup was at it again and Busch was a driving force in the 6-2 win.

“There’s some intent and confidence,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly said of Busch’s recent performance. “Recognizing the really good matchups for him and letting him know, ‘This is a guy you can take a shot off,’ kind of helps him buy into, ‘OK, I’m hunting right now,’ instead of just being up there waiting for a good pitch to come in.”

Kyle Tucker has helped transform the Cubs’ lineup this year. Suzuki is constantly under a microscope given his immense power potential. Carson Kelly has been in the spotlight due to his otherworldly start to the season. The steady eye of Ian Happ and the impact speed of Pete Crow-Armstrong also help this engine hum.

Sitting there in the cleanup spot on most days is the unheralded and soft-spoken Busch, who is coming off a solid rookie showing in ‘24 and looks like a player taking an important step forward. His production out of the chute (.316/.381/.618 slash line with five homers, six doubles and 15 RBIs) has been another key to the overwhelming first few weeks for the North Side nine.

“He’s a good hitter. He’s a young hitter,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He had a really successful year last year. And I think the goal is, ‘Put 500 plate appearances under your belt. Learn from them. Get a little better from them. Understand what you have to be a little bit better at.’”

Counsell said a key for Busch has been expanding the “good part” of his strike zone and being on the attack when something arrives that he can drive.

“I’ve always tried to be pretty aggressive,” Busch said earlier this week. “I just always have an emphasis on contact in-zone. Wherever that comes from -- whether that’s swing or mindset -- I don’t know where. But I always just try to get a pitch and put it forward. It’s kind of like a simple thought, not necessarily in the box, but it kind of helps me sometimes.”

In his first meeting with Gallen on Saturday, Busch got a fastball in the zone on the inner half of the plate and pulled it into right field for an RBI single to push the Cubs in front, 2-1, in the first inning. His best pitch to hit in the second inning was an 0-1 changeup over the middle, but Busch fouled it off.

After slipping into an 0-2 count, Busch stayed stubborn to work the count full. That was when he expanded his zone, hammered the elevated fastball that was out of the zone and sent it the opposite way with an exit velocity of 98.3 mph, per Statcast. With a friendly wind blowing out to left field, it got the job done.

“He makes such good decisions at the plate,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said during the recent trip to San Diego. “He gives himself a chance every at-bat. And he’s looking to do damage, which I love. He’s looking to drive the baseball, and I think that’s starting to show up.”

Busch is now 4-for-9 with a homer, double and a pair of walks in his brief career against Gallen.

Over his past seven games, Busch has hit .406/.424/.906 with four homers, four doubles and nine RBIs for the Cubs. That included a three-game homer streak between the series in Los Angeles and San Diego that fell within the same date range as his five-game streak last season (April 10-15, 2024).

Per Statcast, Busch’s expected slugging percentage (.562) and slugging (.607) on pitches in the strike zone, entering Saturday, were up from last season (.492 xSLG and .496 SLG). Even with a slightly lower swing rate overall, Busch has been making more contact on pitches in the zone and attacking the first pitch of an at-bat more often.

“He makes such good decisions,” Kelly said, “that there’s times where he’s a little passive in the zone. And I think with just the way that he impacts the baseball, to go along with the plate discipline, a little added aggressiveness in the zone is good for him.”