Is Michael Busch Finding His Groove at the Right Time for the Cubs?

In the Chicago Cubs' dominant offensive season spearheaded by the likes of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman, Michael Busch's 2026 has flown under the radar.

The truth is that Busch is having a down year compared to his 2025 breakout. Last season, the 28-year-old crushed a team-high 34 home runs to go along with his .866 OPS and .523 slugging percentage.

This season, he hasn't quite been able to get into that same rhythm. He's slugging just .395, and his hard-hit rate is down nearly 7.5% compared to last year.

The good thing is that the Cubs haven't had to rely on Busch's production, largely because of how good the team has been as a whole on offense. But over the past week, Busch has started to heat up just as the Cubs have found themselves in the thick of a gritty NL Wild Card race.

Michael Busch starts us off properly. pic.twitter.com/KDfLvetAd9
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 12, 2026

Over his last 26 plate appearances, Busch is slashing .300/.423/.500 (.923 OPS) with six RBI, five walks, a stolen base, and six runs scored. The sample size is small, but it means a ton in the context of the Cubs' final stretch of the season.

This is a good sign. Michael Busch had a productive week. He had 6 hits using that typical upper cut swing. Busch has struggled this year and has been getting on top of the ball. Not last week.

My favorite is that oppo homer a couple days ago hit 415 feet. pic.twitter.com/XBm8jULeMO
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) September 14, 2026

Entering play on Tuesday, the Cubs remain atop the NL Wild Card standings, holding a half-game advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies and a 1.5-game lead over the surging San Diego Padres -- the latter of whom have won eight straight while the Cubs and Phillies tread water.

Busch is coming off a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he went 5-for-11 with four RBI as the Cubs won two of three at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs kicked off a crucial home series against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves on Monday, and Busch, despite not recording a hit, had a couple of big at-bats to draw two walks and score a run in the Cubs' 7-3 win.

For Busch, Monday's win was a microcosm of the improvements he's made over the season despite his slugging struggles. He's developed a ton more patience at the plate, bringing his walk rate up to 12.7% from 9.5% last season and cutting his strikeout rate down to 23.1% from 23.5%. Busch was striking out 28.6% of the time in his first season as a Cub in 2024.

Another major improvement for Busch has been his production against left-handed pitching. In 2025, Craig Counsell often sat Busch against southpaws. He managed just a .207 batting average and a .642 OPS in 95 plate appearances against them, compared to a scorching .910 OPS vs. righties.

This season, Busch is seldom a platoon bat. He's already racked up 190 PAs against lefties and is slashing .228/.332/.401 (.733 OPS) against them. The numbers, while they don't jump off the page, are a massive step in the right direction for Busch.

And perhaps Busch's most valuable asset over his last two seasons has been his production with runners in scoring position, which he's maintained into this year, hitting .285 with 54 RBI and a .793 OPS in those situations.

The Cubs will hope that this little hot streak for Busch can carry into a potential postseason run -- after all, Playoff Michael Busch in 2025 was something to behold. He churned out a 1.128 OPS in 31 PAs in his first career postseason, and that will very much be needed again come October.

Sign up for our free newsletter to stay up-to-date with all things Chicago Cubs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google