NEWSLETTER
It’s still way too early to make definitive statements on the surprise offseason trade that netted the Cubs Michael Busch and Yency Almonte from the Dodgers in exchange for pitching prospect Jackson Ferris and outfield prospect Zyhir Hope. I look forward to continuing to track all the players involved, though, to see if the aggressive move was the right one by the Cubs. I really liked it at the time, and obviously I’m loving it as of today.
That’s because Busch has been GOING OFF so far this season, especially lately, homering in four straight games. It’s not the kind of stretch you see often or would expect, but it’s certainly the kind of stretch you hoped Busch could put together given the prospect pedigree and the contention that the Dodgers dealt him only because he was blocked by a trio of Hall of Famers. We all want to believe that Busch was always going to hit in the big leagues, and no seriously the Dodgers simply decided they had to capture value now.
The four shots were not cheapies, either, with just one under 400 feet, and the total combined distance at 1623 feet.
In the process, Busch made a little Cubs history:
And tonight he’ll be going for a little more Cubs history:
Pretty crazy that Busch is the second young Cubs hitter in as many years to put together a streak like this, and with one more he ties the other (Christopher Morel last year). The other three guys on that list – Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg, Hack Wilson – KINDA NOTABLE guys.
Here’s a supercut of the swings and blasts. I’m curious if you notice what I noticed right off the bat, no pun intended:
I spy a slider, a four-seamer, a sweeper, and a changeup in that sequence. Four different pitches on the four homers, and each in a slightly different location, too. This is not a guy who has simply feasted off of one particular pitch in one particular spot.
Also, did you notice something else about all four homers? Two strikes on all four of them. That’s not easy to do!
But Busch has actually pulled that off five times already this year, doing it on all of his homers:
On the year, Busch is now hitting .327/.393/.694/184 wRC+, and if you can believe it, the early advanced metrics suggest he’s actually been UNLUCKY, with his xwOBA 16 points higher than his actual wOBA (which, by the way, is still an obscene .457). The sample is small, so I am not making any kind of predictive comment, by the way. I’m just saying it’s funny how explosive his production has been, and it easily could’ve been even better.
More from the man himself:
