Former Diamond Heel Michael Busch taking advantage of starting opportunity in MLB

Michael Busch, who starred at UNC from 2017-2019, is one of the MLB’s best young hitters this year.

Getting chosen in the MLB Draft is every young baseball player’s dream.

Hundreds of players are selected across 20 rounds, but only a select few progress enough through the plentiful levels of minor league baseball.

One of those select few who rose through the minor leagues is former UNC baseball player Michael Busch, a 2019 first-round selection by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Busch led North Carolina to three NCAA Tournament Appearances, highlighted by a 2018 College World Series berth, by hitting for a .282 career batting average with 32 home runs and 142 RBIs.

Busch spent the 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 season playing for four separate Dodger affiliates, compiling a .283 average and earning an MLB call-up in 2023. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in January, as Freddie Freeman made Busch’s path to a starting first base gig significantly tougher.

After hitting under the Mendoza Line (.200 batting average) for the Dodgers last year, Busch is amongst the MLB’s best hitters in the Windy City this year.

Busch enjoyed a strong Sunday to further boost his season stats, going 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in Chicago’s 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. He is now hitting .327 (25th-best in the MLB) with five home runs (sixth-most) and 11 RBIs.

Busch’s home run total and batting average also have him tops on the Cubs (9-6), who are tied for second in a stacked NL Central.

So far this year, Busch is proving he’s Chicago’s first baseman of the future. He’s just 26, so we could see the former Diamond Heel in the Windy City for a long time.

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