Michael Busch sending important reminder to Chicago Cubs fans

Chicago Cubs rookie first baseman Michael Busch has homered in three consecutive games and he is starting to get recognized across all of Major League Baseball.

Busch homered in the Cubs' 4-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, marking three consecutive games with a home run for the Cubs' rookie first baseman.

When the Cubs sent highly-touted pitching prospect Jackson Ferris to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the deal that landed the team Busch, there was skepticism from the fanbase that the North Siders were once against being cheap with their attempt to solve the first base position.

Throwing Busch into the same category as the Cubs' attempts to solve first base with Trey Mancini or Eric Hosmer is not a fair prospect considering that Busch has long been a top prospect with the Dodgers but did not have a path toward consistent playing time at the Major League level.

Now that Busch is a regular at the Major League level with the Cubs, we may be in the early stages of the first baseman reaching his true potential.

On the season, Busch is slashing .293/.375/.585/.960 with 3 home runs and a wRC+ of 154. If these numbers keep up for Busch, there will be no question that he will be heavily involved in the National League Rookie of the Year award discussion at the end of the season.

Busch's success this season is also a reminder of why prospects should not be discarded if they struggled initially at the Major League level. That is an important reminder for the Chicago Cubs considering top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong went hitless last September at the Major League level and prospect fatigue may be settling in among the fanbase.

Michael Busch is an important sign for other Chicago Cubs prospects.

But looking beyond Crow-Armstrong, Busch's success this season could also be important for Matt Mervis.

Mervis struggled last season when given the opportunity to be the Cubs' starting first baseman, posting a 46 wRC+ in 99 plate appearances. The struggles that Mervis experienced last season has led many to discard the slugging first baseman as potential option for the Cubs at the Major League level.

Mervis opened the 2024 season with Triple-A Iowa and is once again flashing the power that had many Cubs fans excited prior to last season.

If the Cubs were of the thinking that Busch's struggles with the Dodgers last season were not indicative of the Major League Baseball player he will be, the same could apply for Mervis, who, despite his struggles last season, the advanced metrics suggested was in line for more offensive success than he had.

Mervis could be an option at designated hitter for the Cubs depending on how Mike Tauchman's season progresses. Tauchman has primarily been the Cubs' designated hitters against right-handed starting pitchers this season but is only hitting .200/.429/.300/.729. That could be a pathway for Mervis' return to the Major League level once the Cubs decide they need more pop against right-handed pitchers.