Michael Busch just drew an Anthony Rizzo comp that has Cubs fans losing it

When Jed Hoyer acquired Michael Busch from the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season, the hope was he could establish himself as the Chicago Cubs' first legitimate solution at first base since they traded Anthony Rizzo to the New York Yankees during a high-stakes, emotionally charged 2021 MLB trade deadline.

As it turns out, in doing so, they may have picked up a carbon copy of the three-time All-Star - that is, if you're just talking production.

If you go category-by-category, there are striking similarities between Busch and Rizzo - and their overall numbers fall almost directly in line with one another. Of course, all of this comes with a caveat. Busch made his MLB debut at age 25, while Rizzo first appeared at the big-league level at the ripe age of 21 as a member of the San Diego Padres.

Both Anthony Rizzo, Michael Busch struggled - before finding success

Still, the two found success early in their careers in many of the same ways. Both initially struggled in their first exposure to big-league pitching. Rizzo batted just .141/.281/.242 in 49 games with the Padres back in 2011, while Busch slashed .167/.247/.292 in 27 contests as a member of the Dodgers in 2023.

From there, though, both regained their footing and became key contributors from their respective teams almost immediately. Last year, Busch was a fringe All-Star candidate for the Cubs, smacking 21 home runs and adding 28 doubles while emerging as a top-level defender at first base, a new position for him. Meanwhile, after being traded to Chicago following the 2011 season, Rizzo turned in an .805 OPS for the rebuilding Cubs, laying the foundation for the critical years to come.

Lately, we've seen Busch take away bunts in the same uber-aggressive fashion Rizzo used to, charging with reckless abandon from first - and even fielding balls on the third-base side of the mound. Instances like that, paired with this eye-catching comp, are making it harder and harder by the day to not view Busch through that Rizzo-tinted lens.

We'll have to see if Busch comes to play the same integral role Rizzo played on some of the best Cubs teams we've seen in generations. The immeasurable leadership qualities he had don't show up on stat lines - but in how they find success on the diamond, the two are eerily comparable - we can only hope the team success follows Busch in the years that come the same way it did Rizzo when he established himself at the big-league level.