Michael Busch's latest comments put the heat on Cubs manager Craig Counsell

The Chicago Cubs' OPS leader isn't Kyle Tucker. It's not his fellow All-Star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, either. That honor belongs to first baseman Michael Busch who, on Saturday, clubbed his fourth home run in two days, raising his OPS on the year to an impressive .939 mark that ranks sixth among all qualified MLB hitters.

His latest blast came off St. Louis Cardinals' left-hander Matthew Liberatore, an opposite-field blast. But for anyone who has followed the Cubs this year, that's especially eye-catching given Craig Counsell's continued refusal (until this weekend) to start Busch against left-handed pitchers. But when asked about facing southpaws, Busch expressed no doubts about his ability to put together quality at-bats.

In 44 at-bats this year against lefties, Busch has struggled, batting just .159/.245/.318 in very limited action. But given how hot he is - not to mention how much better of a defender he is at first than Justin Turner - we can only hope Saturday was a sign of things to come and Counsell is finally coming around on penciling Busch in on an everyday basis, regardless of matchups.

Michael Busch has quietly been a huge piece of this Cubs team for 2 years

Since coming to Chicago in an offseason trade with Los Angeles in January 2024, Busch has quietly been nothing but productive for the Cubs. Not only did he prove to be a quality AB in his first full pro season last year, but he did so while learning how to play first on the fly, playing Gold Glove-caliber defense by the end of the campaign.

This year, he's not only been one of the best first basemen in the league, but one of the game's best overall players, period. He followed up his three-homer effort in Friday's history-making win with not just another long ball Saturday, but another three-hit showing.

“It’s just who Michael Busch is,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com after Saturday's loss. “You can give Michael Busch a lot of attention -- he’s just not going to care. He’s not going to do it differently.”

He flirted with making the NL All-Star team last summer and should crack through this year (Pete Alonso seems to be the only thing standing in his way) - but regardless of whether or not he joins PCA and King Tuck in Atlanta for the festivities, it's clear that he's ready to help them carry this Cubs team back to October.