MLB · 1B · Chicago Cubs
Michael Busch
B/T L/R · 5' 11" · 210 lb · born Inver Grove Heights, MN, USA · age 28 · draft 2019 rd 1 · played 1B 132 · MLB debut 2023-04-25
Last 14 days (through 2026-08-28): 11 G · .231 AVG · 2 HR · 3 RBI · .837 OPS
621 plate appearances scored this season His season card →
Scout’s note
Michael Busch, a 2019 first-round pick from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, has become a steady power source at first base for Chicago — 71 home runs across 455 games — even as his last two weeks cool to a .662 OPS.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
Where he stands
throughAgainst the 382 qualified major-league hitters — 100+ balls in play this season, the same field the boards are chosen out of. Right is better on every row.
- EV95104.734
- Deserved (xVal)0.38459
- Got (aVal)0.36756
- Luck gap (park-adjusted)flipped-0.01159
today · 30 days ago, against the 340 men who qualified then · the tick is the midpoint · the number at the right is the percentile, the number beside it the measurement itself.
What he’s paid
Pre-arbitrationA market fact, not an engine read: what a club decided about him, on the season before this one. Figures from Cot’s, as of .
- 2026 salary
- $0.86Mest
- Tax hit
- $0.86M
- Service time
- 2 yr 45 d
- Options left
- 2 / 3
The deal 1 year $0.9M (2026)
On the sheet: 1 y/$860,000 (26)
After this season, as the sheet has it
| Season | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | Arb 1 | Arb 2 | Arb 3 | Free agent |
| Tax hit | — | — | — | — |
Cash and the tax hit are two different rulebooks and are never subtracted from one another — see the payroll board for his club, Chicago Cubs.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $0.86M
- Guaranteed
- $0.86M
- Term
- 1 yr
- His class
- Pre-Arb
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | Minimum | Arb 1 | Arb 2 | Arb 3 |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
Two sources, read a month apart, put this guarantee at the same dollar. That is the check, and it passed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
Collect Michael Busch
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Michael Busch cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Not financial advice. We take positions only after publication — never before. Misses stay on the record.
The Bureau on Michael Busch
The scouting press, in their own words
Really good answer from Michael Busch about how Trajekt has helped him develop against lefty arms. His wRC+ jumped from 81 to 111 vs lefties this season. In-game applications of Trajekt are cool, but the training environment applications have always intrigued me more. https://t.co/JDSLqJckb8
Umpire favor
+7.2 net runs over 69 graded games — the zone was kind to the umpire on balance.
The line
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →