Can Michael Busch become the next Anthony Rizzo for the Chicago Cubs? | CHGO Cubs Podcast

Can Michael Busch become the next Anthony Rizzo for the Chicago Cubs? | CHGO Cubs Podcast

all right I got a mystery player for you player a in his first 368 plate appearances for the Chicago Cubs had 96 hits 15 home runs 49 RBI and a 285 batting average player B in his first 301 plate appearances as a cub 68 hits 11 home runs 32 RBI and 265 so clearly player B not quite as good as player a but I will tell you they play the same position and this also was basically their it’s not it’s not necessarily just their M it’s it’s it’s the very beginning of their career these are guys who aren’t Cubs anymore first year with the Cubs first year with the Cubs player a 368 played appearances so not a full season and player B 301 plate appearances I say player B’s not getting enough respect these guys are currently on the Cubs right now thank you sir no but they played for the Cubs in the past these are Cubs okay one of them is a current Cub is number one or U is player B Michael Bush he’s got 11 home runs player B is Bush and our guy Gary has T it and player a Rizzo is Anthony Rizzo’s debut there you go the Cubs and you know obviously bush is going to have a few more plate appearances here before the All-Star break but think of the hype the reason I wanted to look this up and I I didn’t know how close it was going to be is we were sitting and I think I was talking to Corey the like last week and I was saying I don’t think Bush gets enough credit now no I don’t think just on just on last night’s podcast Corey and Brennan were talking about Bush and how good he good he’s been this season and Brenan kind of threw a little cool water on it and said well the way he’s getting to these numbers is is volatile and he laid out some graphs and some stats and stuff of ways things that maybe it’s not sustainable that he’ll always be doing what he’s doing but I say think of the hype that was around Anthony Rizzo now he did did it I believe this was when he was 23 MH and this is 26 for Michael Bush but think of the hype around Rizzo and there you see how he basically was starting his major league career he had that little stint in San Diego and now you see those same almost same amount of plate appearances for Michael Bush people were just like that’s a guy in the lineup that’s the way I feel most people look at him and I would say he’s been pretty good yeah he’s been pretty good this first half of the season this we talked about sha working out so far and getting respect I I think bush is another guy that at least deserves a tip of that hat here for the first half of this season you can argue he should be on the All-Star team because they put Pete Alonzo on the All-Star team and he’s having a better year than Pete Alonzo don’t get the Mets fans mad I don’t care clip it send it to him I don’t give a shitu sorry will but like yeah I mean he’s been great he’s been awesome and yeah if there’s again it like I said about sha if there’s been any good signs about about this team if you wanted me to list a few good things for this team in the first half year it’s been Michael Bush and I know he struggled in May a little bit so maybe that’s why Brennan thinks he could be more volatile but he had to go through those adjustments because the league had adjusted to him and then over his last like month and a half or so he’s been pretty good and I think you would like more power but the fact that he gets on base fact that he uh gets extra base hits defense has improved defense has improved at first base as the season has moved along uh and he can play multiple positions too like he has played some second um and uh I just think the fact that he’s a left-handed bat is a big thing too with the ability to slug yeah I mean I I look at Bush’s season and in kind of chunks so to start obviously like the first few weeks he had that one stretch of like was it five home runs and right games with a home run in a row he had six uh pretty quickly so like from the start of the Year through April 26th he had like I think it was six home runs but he was he was hitting 289 uh had a 902 Ops like he was looking really good and then the obvious or you know just just the rookie struggles that you would expect a guy like that first full season the big leagues um the stuff you’d expect him to go through from the 27 April 27th through May 26 so about a month was 26 games for him uh he hit 173 581 Ops uh and just the one home run so like there was a good month or so of games where he just wasn’t he wasn’t hidden well I think you can attribute that to like you know pitchers getting more data on him General rookie struggles like you don’t obviously want it to to to last as long as it did but like you know it did and and it that happens that happens with rookies you see it you see it a lot with rookies as far as like they’re just not ready to to face big league pitching every day and they’re going to go through their struggles but then you got Michael bus uh since May 28th so starting with May 28th through yesterday’s game he’s got four home runs he’s hitting 310 and he’s got a 920 Ops that’s 34 games that’s the biggest stretch of games in those three that i’ that I talked about so he’s had his ups and downs for sure uh but the you right now what you’re seeing is a guy he may not be hitting you know home runs at I mean it’s still four home runs in about a month’s worth of game like that’s that’s fine for a guy with rookie the guy that’s a rookie right he’s got seven doubles you know was knocked in 11 run uh he has 11 RBI during that time um the strikeout rate is has dipped down a little bit lower to where you wanted it to be um still kind of high but um a little bit lower to where you you know closing in on where you want it to be I think um and yeah like I said like a 920 Ops 310 batting average over 34 games like just a guy that’s a rookie a guy that’s that’s is First full year in the big leagues like you’re going to take that every single day and like quick Council has mentioned it multiple times like even when Bush was going through the struggles like he would say Michael Bush is having a very good first full season in the big leagues like he’d say it and he you know just not not necessarily like excusing it but like qualifying and and giving the context to the fact that it is his first full season in the big leagu and you have to remember that and keep that in mind when you’re evaluating him but like I would argue that we may just be past that and can just say he’s having a good season like not just First full season in the big leagues whatever like he may just be having a good a good season we can I think we can start saying that he’s just having a good a good season in the big leag he’s not I’m not saying he’s Anthony Rizzo I’m not saying he’s the Cornerstone of your lineup moving forward I’m not saying you have Paul gmid on your hands but I think you got a piece back that is showing some return When You traded away one of your top pitching prospects so let’s let’s see where it goes I I think Bush at least at the very least seems like a good fit on this [Music] team we all like the mayor

Michael Busch has been one of the best rookies in baseball in 2024. After struggling to find a replacement for Anthony Rizzo for multiple years, it seems the Cubs have found their next great first baseman. On Monday’s CHGO Cubs Podcast, the crew compared Rizzo’s first season with the Cubs and Busch’s numbers this year.

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