Latest Michael Busch trend is an important development for Chicago Cubs' offense

The struggles of the Chicago Cubs' offense have been a hot topic issue during the team's spiral toward the bottom of the National League Central division.

Even as the Cubs have struggled to stack victories, losers of 7 of their last 8 series on the season, the team isn't out of the race. As of Monday, the Cubs were tied with four teams for the last Wild Card spot in the National League and trailed the Milwaukee Brewers by 6.5 games in the division.

Standings are often irrelevant during the early days of June but the reason to point them out is that despite the Cubs' dreadful play since the beginning of May, the team is still in the middle of both the division race and wild card race.

That does not mean that the Cubs should be comfortable with their play.

The Cubs need improved offensive production, otherwise a -14 run differential is a sign of a team that will once again fall flat during the final month of the season as they did in 2023. What's encouraging about the Cubs is that they have shown signs of life over the course of the past two weeks.

Most importantly, Michael Busch is showing signs of making the adjustment after pitchers have held the advantage for much of the past six weeks. Over the last 14 days, Busch is slashing .292/.469/.500/.969 while carrying a 151 OPS+.

The Cubs need Michael Busch to take the next step in his development.

Busch turning the corner would be an important step toward the Cubs' offense getting back on track. While Busch making the adjustment back should remove the possibility of the Cubs adding an impact bat to their lineup, it does ensure the team has answered the first base question.

Not to mention, the case of Busch's resurgence is a reminder that development is not linear. Busch was not going to hit a home run per day as he was in April but just because he struggled during the month of May does not mean the experiment should have ended. The hope is that Busch is now back on the path of becoming a cornerstone in the Cubs' lineup.