Busch went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in a Cactus League contest against the Royals on Saturday.
Busch was optioned to minor-league camp nearly two weeks ago, but he's shown that he can hold his own against major-league pitching this spring. The 25-year-old has posted a .937 OPS over 36 plate appearances while driving in four runs. Busch will begin the campaign with Triple-A Oklahoma City but is likely to make his big-league debut at some point this season.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Optioned to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Busch was optioned Monday to minor-league camp by the Dodgers.
Busch has struggled in his brief Cactus League sample, with a slash line of .150/.320/.300 with one homer in 25 plate appearances. Those struggles have very little to do with why he's opening the season in the minors, however, and the 25-year-old could be an option for the Dodgers at some point this summer as one of the club's best hitting prospects.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Added to 40-man roster
Rotowire
Busch was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.
Busch opened 2022 at Double-A Tulsa and posted a 1.112 OPS in 31 games to earn a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 25-year-old clubbed 32 homers and 38 doubles between the two levels in 2022, though he may need to cut down on his 26 percent strikeout rate before he receives an extended look in the majors.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Mixed bag in Triple-A
Rotowire
Busch has a .240/.298/.474 line with 10 homers, two steals and a 13:65 BB:K in 42 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
He started off ice cold after being promoted in mid-May (.203 over 16 games), but Busch has hit much better over his last 26 contests, putting up a .262/.308/.542 line with eight of his Triple-A home runs. Even over the course of this relatively hot streak, though, he's been striking out at an alarming rate -- an even 35 percent -- while not drawing many walks (6.8 percent; 7.1 percent overall since being promoted). The new level has not been kind to him in that regard, as Busch had a spectacular 17.6 percent walk rate in Double-A alongside a more manageable 26.3 percent strikeout rate. With that in mind, the Dodgers will likely let Busch bide his time in the minors for most (if not all) of 2022 so that he can improve his plate discipline against higher-grade pitching.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Rises to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Dodgers promoted Busch from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.
Busch spent the entire 2021 campaign at Tulsa, but he earned the call-up to Oklahoma City after raising his performance at the plate just over five weeks into his second tour of Double-A. Over 137 plate appearances at Tulsa, Busch submitted a 1.112 OPS -- a 242-point jump from his 2021 mark. Even though Busch is 24 years old and likely won't benefit much from further development time on the farm, his lack of a 40-man roster spot along with the Dodgers' impressive depth in both the infield and outfield could hurt his chances of receiving a late-season call-up to the majors.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Makes first pro start in LF
Rotowire
Busch made his first professional start in left field for Double-A Tulsa on Wednesday.
Busch has played primarily at second base during his minor-league career, though he has also seen time at first base and at DH. If he is able to handle the new position well, it could open a door to a big-league debut later this season, as outfield depth is arguably the Dodgers' biggest non-pitching need. Busch has certainly shown that he is capable at the plate -- he is slashing .305/.468/.746 with eight home runs, 19 RBI and a 17:19 BB:K in 79 plate appearances this season.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Hitting for low average, high OBP
Rotowire
Busch is hitting .223/.373/.415 with nine homers, two steals, 30 RBI and 34 runs in 51 games for Double-A Tulsa.
Thus far in his minor-league career, Busch has shown that his greatest skill is drawing walks, which he's done 37 times this season -- good for a stellar 15.9 percent walk rate. Unfortunately, that's the only particularly promising part of his batting line, as he's striking out at a 29.6 percent clip and isn't showing enough power to offset the swing-and-miss in his game. The No. 31 overall pick in 2019, Busch has plenty of talent, but he needs to do a better job tapping into his power in game action. Fortunately, he went into the All-Star break doing just that, having smashed three homers and a double over Tulsa's last six games. If he can keep it up, he could move up to Triple-A this season, but Busch isn't likely to see any MLB action in 2021.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Invited to big-league camp
Rotowire
Busch was invited to the Dodgers' major-league camp Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.
Busch will get the benefit of working with the team's big-league coaching staff for a few weeks, though he's not particularly close to joining them on a permanent basis. He has a promising bat and could eventually hit for both power and average, but he's played a grand total of 10 professional games and hasn't advanced beyond Low-A.
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Dodgers' Michael Busch: Joining 60-man player pool
Rotowire
Busch joined the Dodgers' 60-man player pool Friday, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
The 31st overall pick in 2019 will get better coaching than he otherwise would have with no minor-league games happening this season, but he's very unlikely to fill even a depth role this season. He's only appeared in 17 professional games after suffering a hairline fracture in his right hand last year and has yet to reach High-A.
