CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong has stolen the spotlight for the Cubs this season. Kyle Tucker arrived with one already on him, given his established star power before joining the North Siders via trade. Even Seiya Suzuki has grabbed ample attention with his prolific displays of power.
It has all allowed Michael Busch to remain comfortably under the radar.
“It’s just who Michael Busch is,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You can give Michael Busch a lot of attention -- he’s just not going to care. He’s not going to do it differently.”
Busch continued to build his case for a spot on the National League All-Star team on Saturday, when the Cubs' first baseman homered and collected three hits in an 8-6 loss to the Cardinals. The showing came a day after Busch launched three homers and as part of a streak of seven consecutive at-bats with a hit.
Crow-Armstrong and Tucker are already on the NL All-Star team, having been voted in as starters by fans. On Sunday, the rest of the All-Star rosters -- chosen via the Player Ballot and Commissioner’s Office -- will be revealed and Chicago has an assortment of players worthy of consideration.
“There’s a group of guys,” Busch said. “Obviously Pete and Kyle are going to be going, but I think we should have a handful. And hopefully there’s as many as are deserving of it. I think that’ll be exciting, just for the team itself. We spend a lot of time together. We see how much time all those guys put in and the things that they go through.”
The case for Busch
Dodgers star Freddie Freeman earned the starting role at first base via the fan vote, beating out Mets slugger Pete Alonso for that spot. Alonso is a brand-name player who could easily get the nod as the backup at first, but Busch has quietly posted very similar numbers.
Busch’s performance on Saturday -- he finished a triple shy of a cycle -- gave him a .293/.377/.562 slash line with 18 home runs, 56 RBIs, 2.6 wins above replacement (per FanGraphs) and a 162 wRC+. Entering Saturday, Alonso was batting .287/.379/.530 with 18 homers, 68 RBIs, 2.7 fWAR and a 156 wRC+ for New York.
“Michael’s locked in and swinging it good,” Counsell said.
In the immediate wake of Saturday’s game, there were only four qualified Major League hitters with a better wRC+ than Busch. That short list included Aaron Judge (225) of the Yankees, Cal Raleigh (184) of the Mariners, plus Will Smith (178) and Shohei Ohtani (171) of the Dodgers.
The case for Seiya Suzuki
Earlier this week, Crow-Armstrong stood at his locker -- fresh off learning about his own All-Star honor -- raving about the work that Suzuki has done this season for the Cubs. Chicago’s designated hitter has been a consistent threat out of the third spot of the order, helping power one of baseball’s best lineups.
“I don’t think there should be any question,” Crow-Armstrong said, “that Seiya Suzuki’s earned a spot on an All-Star team this year.”
As Suzuki’s interpreter, Edwin Stanberry, began to translate a question about Crow-Armstrong’s comments for the DH, Suzuki cut him off.
“I’m OK,” Suzuki said via Stanberry. “Obviously, if I’m chosen, I would want to go. But I think my focus is on trying to get to the postseason -- that’s more important.”
Ohtani earned the starting role at DH for the NL, while an interesting wrinkle was thrown in when DH Rafael Devers was traded to the Giants by the Red Sox on June 15. What is hard to ignore is that Suzuki, who contributed an RBI double on Saturday, is currently leading the Major Leagues in RBIs (75) and already has set a career high in that category and homers (24).
“He’s one of the best hitters around the league,” Tucker said. “Hopefully he can join us in Atlanta, as well. He’s been doing a phenomenal job all year.”
An argument could be made for …
• Lefty Matthew Boyd has been a steady hand in Chicago’s injury-marred rotation, ranking sixth in the NL in ERA (2.65) at the moment among qualified pitchers.
• Catcher Carson Kelly, who was second to Smith in the fan vote for NL catcher, homered Saturday, giving him 11 blasts with a .508 SLG and an .878 OPS in 57 games.
• Second baseman Nico Hoerner has played plus defense, hit .282, posted 2.1 fWAR and has been one of the toughest hitters to strike out (6.9 K%) in MLB.
• Righty Daniel Palencia (1.74 ERA with 10 saves) has not been in the closer’s role all year, but he has grown into an anchor for a bullpen filled with standout performances.