MESA, Ariz. — Michael Busch’s stellar postseason performance taught the Chicago Cubs first baseman a valuable lesson.

The routine works.

For as simple as that might sound, Busch remembers how his former coach at the University of North Carolina, Mike Fox, continuously harped on the importance of routine. Busch felt that was the key to finding success his first MLB playoffs last year in which he broke out for four home runs and a .296/.387/.741 slash line in eight games.

Photos: Chicago Cubs on photo day at spring training

“In the postseason, there’s so many emotions and looking forward to things or you’re at bats or whatever, but trusting your routine was probably the biggest takeaway for me, that it really does help and it helps you focus when your mind doesn’t want you to focus,” Busch said. “And so I thought that was pretty cool.”

The Cubs are counting on Busch, 28, to be an important part of what should be one of the league’s best lineups again. Outside of the team, Busch might not carry the same level of name brand as some of the other Cubs hitters, but that doesn’t diminish how valuable he has become as he enters his third full season in the majors.

“It’s kind of easy to fly under the radar, but I don’t know, I don’t really try to get too caught up in that stuff,” Busch said. “I really feel like as a group, this year we’re going to have a similar lineup, we’re going to give ourselves a good opportunity to produce just as well as we did last year.”

In the offseason, Busch played around with his batting stance’s distance to the plate. He moved off the plate a little more so he could better hit pitches in the middle of the plate. Busch is not content merely to replicate last year’s offensive output, though the Cubs would surely take him posting a 147 OPS+ again. Part of Busch’s next challenge will be more matchups against left-handers.

Busch has used a mix of tools to help him better prepare to face more lefties this year. That work has included using a Trajekt Arc machine, which can replicate to a hitter how a baseball appears out of hand, in this case from a lefty.

“Just getting in uncomfortable situations with a little bit of angle, like a lefty, or honestly, whatever you’re trying to get out of it, can kind of get you into a game situation,” Busch said. “You can kind of test and challenge yourself a little bit. And I think for me, that’s been one of the things that has helped me grow as a hitter.

“One thing is just working hard with the hitting coaches, trying to figure out ways, mechanically, or even just approach-wise,” Busch added. “I’ve always had a good awareness of the zone of, my numbers from my chase and swing and miss, are around the same as righties. So, I didn’t really want to toggle with too much of the stuff, but I’m trying to find a little something to maybe just help me to perform a little better against lefties.”

Alex Bregman couldn’t help but take in the numbers he saw flash onto the scoreboard Friday at Sloan Park.

Busch’s offensive numbers from last season appeared as he stepped into the batter’s box, causing Bregman to audibly react to manager Craig Counsell at the 34 home runs and .866 OPS Busch produced in 2025.  Busch put up those team-best numbers despite logging only the seventh-most plate appearances by a Cub last year. His plate appearances will increase this year with Counsell planning to give him regular playing time against lefties.

Counsell believes Busch is ready for the challenge.

“It’s an impressive year,” Counsell said. “And I think it’s just a sign of someone who’s earned it, and now you’ve got to prove it.”