Can Cubs First Baseman Replicate His Successful 2025 Campaign in the Upcoming Season
2026 will be the third season that 29-year-old Michael Busch plays for the Chicago Cubs. In 2025, the first baseman was one of the highlights on the team’s roster, hitting 34 home runs with a slugging percentage of .523, both of which were the highest on the team. He also hit a very respectable .261 average at the plate with an OPS of .866. His excellence on the offensive side of the ball was one of the more surprising components of the team’s strong showing last season. The Cubs are a team with World Series aspirations after their highly successful 92-win campaign in 2025, and Busch is a crucial piece of the puzzle moving forward.
So, how capable is Busch of building upon his strong 2025 season? What sort of impact would it have on the Cubs if he did? The first baseman is currently having a strong showing in Spring Training, with seven hits, two RBIs, and six runs scored in ten games played. Another noteworthy metric is Busch’s improvement from the 2024 to 2025 season; the 29-year-old increased his totals in almost every major offensive stat in his second season with the team, including hits, home runs, RBIs, and batting average. He also posted an impressive WAR of 4.5, which was the second highest among first basemen in the National League after Atlanta Braves star Matt Olson.
If Busch replicates or even amplifies his performance in the 2026 season, the influence that he has on the team results could be monumental. The Cubs are a team that has been hungry to take the division title after watching the rival Milwaukee Brewers earn first place in each of the past three seasons. The team has been steadily improving from season to season ever since their rebuild began in 2020, and in 2025, they tallied their highest win total since 2018’s 95-win season, and Busch’s strong campaign was a huge part of that. The team has high expectations for him in their much-anticipated 2026 season, and he will have every opportunity to make his mark on the club and the league as a whole.
