Cubs fans can finally stop worrying about surprising early-season slump from key contributor

One of the unexpected concerns that surfaced for the Chicago Cubs during the early weeks of the 2026 season was the struggles of Michael Busch. Busch has routinely finished among the most productive first basemen in the National League since joining the Cubs, and was off to an extremely slow start this season.

The slump reached a low point during the middle weeks of April, when Busch had a stretch where he was hitless for a stretch of 30 at-bats. The slump was busted with a pinch-hit RBI single against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then, Busch has been the offensive contributor the Cubs have always expected him to be.

Entering Monday's game against the Cincinnati Reds, over his last 85 plate appearances, Busch is slashing .278/.376/.458 with a wRC+ of 137 and 2 home runs. In signs that he is truly turning the corner, over that stretch, Busch is walking 11.8% of the time, and his BABIP is .360.

Throughout his struggles, Busch was still having good at-bats and drawing walks, but the timing of his swing appeared to be off. Looking at his Baseball Savant page, Busch's squared-up rate has moved into the red, suggesting that his timing has been corrected.

Michael Busch's slump is over but there's still one weakness

A key part of Busch's development this season was going to be increased opportunities against left-handed pitchers. With Tyler Austin sidelined, Busch was going to have an extended runway against southpaws this year, something Craig Counsell has shied away from over the last two years.

Along those lines, there's still room for improvement. In 47 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers this season, Busch is slashing .194/.362/.306 with a wRC+ of 102. Interestingly enough, he has a higher wRC+ against left-handed pitchers than he does against righties. That should be where the optimism lies. Busch doesn't look overmatched against lefties this season; he's walking 17% of the time and striking out under 20%. His batted-ball metrics are where the dropoff lies.

Now that Busch's overall struggles are behind him, the goal is that his luck begins to shift against left-handed pitchers. He's having good at-bats and drawing walks, which is why his wRC+ is higher against lefties than it is against righties, but it's time to take it a step further and have success with making contact and putting the ball in play. That could be the true key to Busch cementing his status in the Cubs' starting lineup moving forward.

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