The Cubs' Michael Busch trade looks like one of Jed Hoyer's best moves to-date

Michael Busch isn't in the MVP conversation or anything like that, but he's been a welcome addition - and a long-sought solution at first base this year for the Chicago Cubs.

Acquired this winter from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Busch has emerged as a consistent power threat and an elite defender at first, and there's still plenty of room for him to grow and improve as he matures. There's still a lot of strikeout and swing-and-miss in his game, but he's overcome that to put up some solidly above-average numbers in his first full big-league season.

On the year, his .809 OPS trails only Seiya Suzuki amongst qualified Cubs hitters. With Christopher Morel now in Tampa Bay, his 15 home runs rank third on the team, trailing only Ian Happ and Suzuki. His 22 doubles and 52 runs rank second and third, on the club, respectively, and he's come up in big spots time and time again for Chicago.

Defensively, though, is where he's taken great strides this year. Among all qualified MLB first baseman, he ranks first DRS (defensive runs saved) - and almost every other metric has him among the league leaders with the mitt, as well. Not too shabby for a guy learning on the job, eh?

Cubs' Michael Busch has become must-see TV in his rookie season

There hasn't been a whole lot to get excited about this year for Cubs fans. But Busch at-bats have, at least for me, become something I really look forward to because he's shown a ton of patience (76th percentile in chase rate) and an ability to punish mistakes. This weekend against the Cardinals, he's torched St. Louis pitching, popping a pair of home runs and scoring three runs heading into Sunday's finale.

Jed Hoyer has a lot of work to do this off-season. With the exception of Busch, the Cubs are largely identical to the 2023 team. Ironically, he represents one area where they dramatically improved, which has helped offset the underperformance of so many others in this lineup. Should he take another step forward in 2025, we could be talking about a guy regarded as one of the best all-around first basemen in the game.