"A lot of people were surprised, which is fair, as Busch had the ninth-best wRC+ in baseball. His 140 wRC+ was the only one point behind Pete Alonso for the highest among first basemen and his 34 homers also trailed only Alonso (38). Freddie Freeman 's .370 wOBA barely surpassed Busch (.369) for tops at the position. Busch's .523 slugging percentage was 13th best in all of MLB and - you guessed it - just a point behind Alonso."
"The first baseman played in 155 games, although his lack of appearances against left-handed pitching hurt his case for the award. He logged 497 plate appearances against right-handed arms, but only faced southpaws 95 times. Busch had a .642 OPS and four home runs against lefties, but it was a clear weakness that Craig Counsell often countered by starting Justin Turner instead."
Three Cubs were named as Silver Slugger finalists and the entire lineup was nominated for the team award. Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Kyle Tucker received individual recognition. Michael Busch was omitted despite posting the ninth-best wRC+ in baseball and a 140 wRC+, one point behind Pete Alonso among first basemen. Busch hit 34 homers, trailed only Alonso, and produced a .523 slugging percentage and .369 wOBA. Busch ranked near the top in barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and average exit velocity. A pronounced platoon split limited his appearances versus left-handed pitching, with 497 PA against righties and 95 against southpaws, producing a .642 OPS and four homers versus lefties. Alonso, Freeman, and Matt Olson were eligible finalists and had more plate appearances while posting virtually the same wRC+ and wOBA as Busch.
Read at Cubsinsider
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